A Million Tiny Moments

May has been a bit of a marathon.  Everything that we put off til after school was out was crammed into one month, effectively minimizing the margin that I try to keep in our lifestyle.  We as moms do our best planning and leave the rest in God’s hands.  It is in this month, that I found myself digging deeper,  grasping more vigorously and pondering His works more thoughtfully.

“I simply must have Your grace to do what You want me to do.”

I’m finding myself wanting to be used by God more fervently this month.  Reaching out to Him, wanting to be always fully available for Him, He’s blessed me with so many unexpected moments amidst the busy days.

Like chatting with my neighbor friend at the creek while the Blossoms cool off and I have heart eyes for God’s wildflowers.  Or back porch sittin’ with various and sundry friends, talking about ordinary life, mom wins and mom fails and all the in between seemingly mundane things. Or camping out in the yard as a family, while devouring hot dogs roasted over a fire the Blossoms built.

Doing something for God is most often mistaken as one spectacular moment of greatness, when really it’s a million ordinary moments of loving God and loving people.

What Looms Large?

Sometimes when you're an adult, the burdens of life feel heavy.  Your loved ones are going through a hard time.  There's something wrong with your vehicle... again.  Your child got a tick bite; will they have Lyme disease?  You're grieving and grappling with a real loss.  Your husband is discouraged.  Burdens can take so many forms.

On some days, this pilgrimage through Earth seems most like heavy, hard trudging.  Your head is down and the wind is against you.

In those teeth-gritting, soul-struggling times, we question.  We don't understand.  We ask why?

Reaching out toward a friend when we felt like sitting with our heads in our hands, exhausted, we talked a little about why.  What is the purpose in all of this?

Sometimes the thing I can remember in those times of heavy burdens is that there are no burdens in Heaven.  It's an eternal hope beyond this temporary life.  The heavy burdens of this daily life help me remember the temporal nature of this life.  It isn't forever.  His perspective finds me again as Heaven looms large in my previously Earth-clouded vision.

Sometimes the heavy burdens have a way of simplifying things.  It's the way back to simplistically, childishly and vigorously clinging to Jesus' hand, letting Him lead in the simplest way again.

Sometimes the hardest days help me find my footing with slivers of Hope that I can only find by being with Jesus.  Not by hoping in man's ways.  Not by hoping in man's provisions.  Not by hoping in optimism.  Not by anything people can do.

When the burdens loom large, Heaven and its King looms larger.

Dominique

PS - Blossom4 sprinted into the house and told me to grab my camera because "there is something very cool, but a little scary outside!"  While bouncing from foot to foot, she shared that she had discovered this moth, an Antheraea polyphemus or giant silk moth, inside a temporarily vacant rabbit pen.  

Blossom3 exclaimed, "We know it's a moth because we can see its feathered antennae!"  

Blossom2 shouted, "It was SO BIG when it flew to the front yard that it looked like a BIRD!"

Blossom1 interjected with an update on the status of a kit (baby rabbit) that she is bottle-feeding.  

This is a pretty accurate representation of our life, folks.

Hanging Baskets and Humming - - - Blossoms?

After a busy but enjoyable family wedding weekend, where Blossom4 did her part as the cutest flower girl ever, I was thrilled to my toes to be given this gorgeous hanging basket as a thank you for all of the fetching scissors, finding duct tape, whipping out wipes and corralling ring bearers and Blossom4 that I was delighted to do.  Seriously, yesterday afternoon as I swayed on my porch swing, alternately dozing and reveling in the restfulness that is quintessentially Sunday, I exclaimed half a dozen times, "I'm just so excited about my hanging basket!"

Later on, I wondered aloud, "Why haven't the hummingbirds discovered my basket yet?"  In my experience, our hummingbirds take about a half hour to an hour to discover new sources of nectar in our yard.  God sure made them quick!  Alas, the conversation took an interesting twist. 

Blossom4, with a silly grin: "Sometimes, I just drink right out of the hummingbird feeder!" 

Me, shocked: "What??????"

Blossom4, with that goofy face again: "Yes, sometimes I drink out of the feeder.  I can't help it; it just tastes SO GOOD." 

I've written that you can't judge a parent by what their kid eats; apparently you can't judge a parent by what their kid drinks either. 

Help, It's Yucky!

This week I needed to rotate clothes.  It's a big job that takes a long time because of our four growing Blossoms.  I don't particularly enjoy it.  I was struggling especially with motivation.  It needed to be done and I didn't want to do it.  So I prayed about it. 

"I need grace today to be kind 

and do the yucky tasks that need to be done."  

After jotting down that thought, I felt the Lord pointing out all the good in this overwhelming task. 

- But the girls and I can do this task together.
- But it's a task that can be done because God has already provided clothing for the Blossoms.
- But it will feel like summer once this task is done. 
- But the girlies will have something nice to wear to the family wedding this weekend. 
- But it is a way to bless the Blossoms.
- But it is a way - a very real way - to show the girls that I love them. 

For everything that I thought was yucky about this huge undertaking, the Lord turned it around and showed me all the good in it.  He probed me further as I sat on the porch swing. 

"Can I rotate clothes today - a task that I detest - in a way that shows the girls how I love them?"  

Maybe you're chuckling now.  Who labors over something so dumb as rotating clothes?  However, everybody has some task they despise. 

Procrastination isn't the answer. 
Prayer is a terrific start. 
Perspective ~ His perspective ~ comes.
Then...
We persist. 

Looking back on an exhausting day, I'm humbled.  The Lord helped me to be truly patient... ALL DAY.  Can I just brag on what He did in an ordinary woman doing yucky tasks today?

Dominique

I Need an (Easy) Solution

I'm so tired of losing my gardening hand tools when I'm working!  

I adore efficiency, a trait I get from my dad, so this walking all over the garden to find where I left my tools five minutes ago was simply for.the.birds.  I usually end up finding them, camouflaged with the dirt, across the garden somewhere.

In frustration, I racked my brain and came up with this simple solution that hearkens back to Dad's early days on his pool crew.  Dad supplemented some of his employer's tools with his own, in addition to each work truck having its own set of tools.  

He lined all the tools up in the grass and painted the handles with a spray paint code of sorts.  

If I remember correctly, he chose florescent orange for his tools 

and another color designated for each truck.  

Do you realize that florescent tools are awfully hard to lose in the grass and dirt?  So are red.

Problem solved.

Dominique

PS - In between gardening sessions, I store my hand tools, garden gloves, and string in an old mailbox attached to my garden fence. Apparently, heading down to the garage for my tools before I get to work is too far and too inefficient for my taste.  They stay dry in there too.

 

#gardenhack #rusticlifehack

A Few (Green) Things That are Working

Garden season is well underway and I wanted to share a few things that are working for us! 

#1 - Painted Rock garden markers!
Remember these?  I can believe how much I love them.  It's so easy to stand at the garden gate and see what's in which raised bed at a glance. 

#2 - Daily Check
I check in on the garden every day except Sunday.  It's on my daily to-do list so I don't forget.  I head out and there and check how things look.  I harvest some asparagus, reinforce a limp looking plant, whatever needs to be done.  I find that it helps me to stay on top of things.  It usually only takes a few minutes.  I also notice pretty quickly if problems have arisen, so I can deal with them as quickly as possible.  

#3 - Weed Early... and As You Go
This year, I weeded twice before it was ever really warm enough, but it really helped get a jump on the stubborn weeds, like crab grass!  I regularly weed before things get big and out of hand, and always right after (or during) a rain.  I've also started weeding as I go.  When I'm in the garden planting, if I see a few weeds, I pull them.  If I'm doing my daily check and notice some, I get rid of them.  I don't wait till the weeds are 7 inches high and overtaking everything.  When the weeds are smaller, they come out easier! 

#4 - Pick Rocks... As You Go
Our yard was once a farmer's field and rocks are still a big problem.  Now, I keep a bucket in the corner of the garden and toss rocks in the bucket as I see them.  Then, when I'm finished doing my little daily check or planting session, I take them around the perimeter of our fence and block any holes that might look tempting to small critters.  Slowly but surely there are less rocks!

As you can see, my philosophy is a lot of little bits of work add up to keeping on top of things! 

Happy Gardening, friends!

Dominique

PS - And don't forget to harden your plants!

Sipping and Savoring

Lately I've been sipping the joy from every day life.  

~ Seeing the ecstatic reactions on the Blossoms' and their friends' faces when they get a multiple friend Google hangout going.

~ Plucking the first spring mint and inhaling its nostalgic scent.

~ Discovering these "wild daffodils" when meandering to the creek in flip-flops!

~ Witnessing the Big Blossoms' anticipation of their horseback riding weekend with Grandma and hearing their contented reports on its fruition.

~ Laughing as the Little Blossoms run in excited circles when meeting up with Grammie & Pappy for their special Littles' weekend plans.

~ Watching a family friend nail his role as George Banks in a superb Mary Poppins musical, while eating tuppence worth of fishy crackers that were hawked by young ladies in period costumes and exquisite hats carrying generous baskets.

~ Exploring a local back road with the Rugged Mountain Man, leading to a soul-satisfying view, that was totally worth the hike.

~ Cooking up a seafood feast for two with my husband.

There are precious things to be savored in every week.  Keep looking for them!

Dominique

On Hospitality and Fellowship and such

One of the highlights of this week was a small get-together of a few other folks at a friend's house.  It was an exquisite example of hospitality. 

More and more, I've come to appreciate hospitality, which I define as:

Thorough thought and consideration of and for your guests,

as they are welcomed into your home or current sphere. 

The beautiful thing is all of the fellowship, all of the ministry, all of the genuine relationships that can be built when hospitality is practiced.  What I appreciated about our hostess was that she'd thought of so many things in anticipation of us.  We filled our plates and settled in around the table. 

Some might say that what happened there for the next five hours was fellowship.  Some might say it was ministry.  Some might say it was akin to iron sharpening iron, which may also be deemed edification.  Truly I believe that these three aren't meant to be separated.  Fellowship, ministry, and edification flow one into the other. 

We must be humble enough to be used to God, in any conversation, through any word, through any deed. 

We must be humble enough to receive, when He shines His light on our hearts and sends a timely word. 

We must be humble enough to be genuine... ALWAYS. 

Hospitality and all the fellowship, ministry and edification that is fostered there is rooted assuredly in humility. 

I drove home that night, desiring to be more humble.  I don't want to miss out on any way God can use me in fellowship, ministry or edification.