Finally got the garden officially planted

Hello, Tiny Snail

So teeny

My backseat view the other day

The river is only a block from our house

On a Mother’s Day walk

Sweet boy gave me a flower

I don’t know how they scored this. So fun.

This was seriously our entertainment yesterday. Neighbor’s sewer pipes needed fixing, which included digging in our yard.

Yeah, it was 10 feet deep. That’s a lot of dirt.

What do you do with mint?

Color makes me happy.

And your week?

During times like Mother’s Day weekend, we get to celebrate the joy of what is.

For so many, though, the joy of what is to come is the only thing to assuage the pain of now.

No matter what kind of weekend you had, let’s fix our eyes on Him and our True Home:

“Heaven is our home.  Paul said, ‘As long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord…We would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord’ (2 Cor. 5:6-8).

Paul said we’d prefer to be in heaven, our true home.  Home is the place of acceptance, security, rest, refuge, deep personal relationships, and great memories.

God’s people, aliens and strangers on earth, spend their lives ‘looking forward to a country they can call their own’ and ‘looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland’ (Heb. 11:14, 16 NLT).  The capital of this heavenly country will be a ‘city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God’ (Heb 11:10 NLT).  This city will have all the freshness, vitality, and openness of the country with all the vibrancy, interdependence, and relationships of a city.  A city without crime, litter, smog, sirens, seaminess, or slums.

Heaven will have an endless supply of fresh water and delicious food.  No famine or drought.  Christ promised we would eat and drink with him – along with Abraham and others (Matt 8:11).  We’ll meet and converse with other inhabitants of heaven.  Not only Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but Moses, David, Ruth, Esther, Mary and Peter.  I look forward to conversations with C.S. Lewis, A.W. Tozer, Jonathan Edwards, and Amy Carmichael…

God gave Adam and Eve creativity in their unfallen state that was twisted but remained when they fell.  He will surely not give us less creativity in heaven but more, unmarred by sin, unlimited by mortality.  We will compose, write, paint, carve, build, plant, and grow.”

(Alcorn, Money, Possessions, and Eternity pages 113, 114).

Mead’s Corner is hosting a WSU Jazz concert tomorrow night!

My friend was sweet to pass on info for her CSA and fresh meat supplier, Zaycon Fresh. If you enter your city, state and zip here, you can find out if they deliver super fresh meat in your area.

My friend is performing in Annie Get Your Gun through Christian Youth Theater this weekend. Check out showtimes and get tickets here.

My friend told me (you are correct in gathering these posts would not happen without my friends!) the neighborhood behind Bradley Fair is having their area-wide garage sale starting today. See you there.

To celebrate Children’s Book Week, Curious George will be at Watermark Book’s Story Time this Saturday at 10:30!

Until May 10th, get half-priced Frappuccinos at Starbucks from 3:00-5:00. This link is fun.

Mamas get in free for Mother’s Day this Sunday to some fun places!

Apparently, River Festival Buttons are going up in price. Boo. Today is the last day to get them for $5!

Of course bike rides, board games, yard work and gathering around the table with people you love are some of the best ways to save money and be intentional. Have a great weekend!

Friday night was lovely.

My friend is growing salad. In a box.

A little help.

Playing school.

New screen door.

Yesterday morning.

This morning.

How were your 7 days?

I watched this show once in a while growing up.  It was completely unrealistic.

But even now, years later, I can recall how it made me feel when he sat down at his computer and typed his reflections at the end of an episode. Something about watching him wrap up the lessons he was learning in a poetic way intrigued me.

When I headed to college, I was planning to be an English teacher. Words are very important to me and I had wonderful teachers invest in me. So why not put them together for a career?

I remember watching in rapt fascination as a professor talked about literature and poetry as if it were gold. He would get choked up describing meter and symbolism and how the written word was a form of art.

I agreed.

But nothing, nothing, has ever moved me like His Word.

I talked with a friend yesterday. She is mentoring a younger girl and together they are working on memorizing Scripture. She had put a fairly long section to memory and was so excited to have it hidden in her heart.

Know how she did it?

One or two verses written on a notecard, kept in her car. Every time she drives anywhere she works on it. Reading at stoplights and reciting as she drives.

No one will ever be able to take that away from her.

This world can be confusing and harsh and the fact that this isn’t heaven is proven daily.

But when we read His Word…

Everything comes into focus. We experience that all Scripture is God-breathed and alive. Our thoughts are replaced with His, which are infinitely higher.

And we are literally being transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Words are powerful.

His Words are all-powerful.

————————————————–

Ever thought about Scripture memory? I’m not naturally good at details: any practical tips to share?

I have seen friends on Facebook talk about Bountiful Baskets. Apparently, very fresh produce for cheap. There is not a subscription, so you have to be available at your computer during the time they assign portions. I would love to know about your experience if you try this!

I talked about book clubs last week, and wanted to pass on another one my friend gave me a heads up on. While not free, it includes a meal and supports a local store!

And just because it is so charming, the lovely April Newsletter from The Spice Merchant.

Do you know about 2nd Saturday? It is an initiative to “Shop Douglas, Shop Local” every month. Buy a reusable cloth bag for $5 and receive discounts from participating vendors. So fun!

Did you know about Jazz Night Tuesdays at the Donut Hole?

Or the Hot Art for Cool Kids Camps at the Wichita Art Museum? Only $5 friends! (And you know their admission is free all day, every Saturday, yes?)

If you’re going for garden produce this year, keep this in mind: Sedgwick County Master Gardeners and the Kansas Food Bank partner each year for Plant a Row for the Hungry. When you’re harvesting, keep them in mind and check out their drop off locations. Let’s give from our bounty!

The Kansas Grown Farmers Market is already in full swing Saturdays from 7 am to noon April through October.

And the Old Town Farmers Market opens this Saturday May 2nd!

Have a great weekend!

Our beloved AeroPress.

The official Smoothie King in our house.

Homemade Shelves!

Perennials are so lovely and budget-friendly. Buy once, enjoy every year!

Exploring some deep roots.

One boy in each tree.

The seniors from my class at the Y have a Potluck Birthday Celebration about once a month. Last week they sent both boys home with flowers and we finally got them planted.

A couple of our sweet neighbor ladies are gem hounds. They gave our family a pass to the Gem & Mineral Exhibit. I was afraid I would have to fake interest in rocks, but it really was cool. I love seeing people in their element.

Spinning the Gem Wheel. They used their own quarters and won a cool-looking rock.

Making polished spheres.

Rock cutting

Digging for treasure.

I realize I’m way late to this party, but free Online Printables? These are making me deliriously happy.

I mean, seriously.

Can’t wait to decorate with them!

I love Him.

How you?

I love Garage Sales. And it is that time of year! I thought I would pass on my favorite treasures.

Top Ten Yard Sale Treasure Categories:

1. Health Care/Beauty Products – It may sound weird, but I’ve found some great, high quality products at sales. Some I’ve gotten half-used, but that bothers me zero.

2. Books – I may be only one of a handful of people who still buy paper books. Love Little Golden classics, collection/series, copies of books you love to pass on to others, even used Bible Studies. (Though I would be way intimidated to sell one of my used studies knowing others would read my answers. Yeesh.)

3. Kid stuff – Obviously toys, books, games, clothes. But also soccer cleats, karate uniforms, Halloween costumes/dress up clothes, baseball caps, swimwear and goggles, hats and gloves. And then there’s all manner of baby stuff: cloth diapers, sippy cups, umbrella strollers. Of course it’s always good to keep your yard-sale-loving friends up on what all of you are needing and keep eyes out for each other.

4. Appliances – Once I got a Kitchen Aid grain mill attachment for $5! Also our coffee grinder, which is still going strong 3 years later. We got our deep freezer for $10. It was a bit rusty, but cleaned up easily and is still trucking. People sell good bread machines and some even lose their minds and sell their stoneware.

5. Home Decor – seasonal decorations, vintage items, picture frames, maps/globes. I know people who search for vintage suitcases & bed sheets.

6. Craft supplies – acrylic paint and watercolors, scrapbooking letters and paper, spray paint

7. Furniture – I love the idea of finding a random coffee table and fixing it up to match your style. I’m planning to try this method on an extra bedside table soon!

8. Athletic stuff – baseballs & soccer balls, fitness DVDs, yard games

9. Adult clothes and accessories – including jewelry, shoes, purses

10. Gift Stuff – Gift bags, gift cards, kid Birthday party invitations and party theme stuff

One caveat: We are as consistent in getting rid of stuff as we are bringing in stuff – even good deals. It seems to me that part is just as important to avoid any sort of hoarding or clutter.

Do you love a good Yard Sale? What’s on your list? I love to hear others’ treasure finds!

[O Israel] say to [the LORD]…

“Assyria cannot save us;

We will not mount war-horses.

We will never again say ‘Our gods’

To what our own hands have made…”

“I will heal their waywardness

And love them freely,

for my anger has turned away from them.

I will be like the dew to Israel;

he will blossom like a lily.

Like a cedar of Lebanon

He will send down his roots;

His young shoots will grow.

His splendor will be like an olive tree,

His fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.

Men will dwell again in his shade.

{Cedars of Lebanon are not only majestic, they have a deep root system to survive the rocky terrain in which they inhabit.

Heights of splendor, deep roots, an immovable force. Much like His Church}

He will flourish like the grain.

He will blossom like a vine,

And his fame will be like the

Wine from Lebanon.

O, Ephraim, what more have I to

Do with idols?

I will answer him and care for him.

I am like a green pine tree;

Your fruitfulness comes from Me.” (3-8 NIV)

We’ve traveled so far with Hosea. I may forever wonder how his personal story with Gomer turned out. Or what happened to Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah and Lo-Ammi. How their family weathered the trials of being a human illustration of God’s love and judgement.

What Hosea preached during these 38 years could not have been warmly received by his contemporaries. And what he saw come to pass in his lifetime was a tragedy. But from the beginning, God made sure to have him point the Israelites to what will come.

The same is true for us. These are the Shadowlands. And we will never find in the now what can only be fulfilled in the future.

But, oh. What a future it will be.

For littles (2-6), Linwood Park Branch Library is having Play with Art this Monday, April 27th from 6:00-6:45 p.m. Think storytime told with their own, messy creations!

Speaking of the library and kids…the annual Summer Reading Program kicks off in a month. You get to set your own goal for how many books you read in two months. And when I mean the coupons are worth it, I mean the coupons are worth it. I don’t think you can sign up til school is out, but tuck that one away.

And adults and the library: interested in a book club but don’t want to start your own (ever or yet)? The library has a ton. What I like about the idea of this is meeting people with whom you most likely would never interact if not for this club. I like that kind of intentionality.

Caden had a flier in his school folder about bowling free all summer long. It reminded me of this post from Money Saving Mom. (Note: shoes are not included…and they frown on letting you bowl in your socks. By frown, I mean they won’t let you do it. Something about broken toes.)

Don’t forget to Fill a Flat now through Sunday!

Tomorrow, Friday April 24th, Watermark is partnering with Wichita Public Library foundation for Wichita’s annual Art Day of Giving. There will be poetry reading from 7:30-11:30 and live music from 12:40-3:40. And you can donate books to the library!