Monday Refelections

One reason so many Christians today are worn out and faint is because their lives are complicated.  -- Joyce Meyer

And I begin this long time coming blog post telling you that my life is complicated. Yes. It is.  It's been more than 1 year since my last post, and frankly longer than that since I posted with any frequency.  For those that followed me at one time and have stuck with me, THANK YOU.  Thank you for sticking with me while life has been complicated and I adjust to new normals.  Not Homeschooling doesn't mean I have nothing to blog about because I am still tending my garden.

Later this week I will update in bits and pieces but today I will muse on how to embrace the seemingly disorganization that life has been for the last 3-4 years.  It really hasn't been any more disorganized than before.  Adding Gram to the mix changed things a bit, which I am sure to touch on how having your mother in your home can add its onset of complications, but that is for another day.  I pray your gentle friendship will allow me those times and these times.  :-)  

On the home front, we are currently moving things around and Gram has agreed to divest our home of many small items that stack up and create a big mess, of course, a family of four with the gene for hanging onto things long past their use is difficult.  I made the hard choice last night to toss all of Bear's old birthday cards.  Really, what was I keeping them for?  You would be very proud of my resolve.

I have been using Sunday's to mentally plan the big anchor tasks for the week and menu ideas.  This week we are having:

• Lasagna 
• Hobo Meal (Potatoes and Beans with Franks)--it sounded good.
• Goulash
• Breakfast
• Pizza--  Because Friday should always be Pizza right?

That is a lot of meal planning for me.  In the past, I have tried to create 4-6 weeks of rotating meals, and it has proven a headache and unsustainable.   I know my limitations! Instead of viewing this as a failure I decided to adapt and do what does work with my life, my abilities, and my family.  Welcome Sunday week planning.  I am not micro-planning, but planning my anchor tasks, and then each night I am planning the large things the next day and keeping my lists short.  This is working for me and if you are finding planing and keeping to task is proving to be hard this might help you.  I will try to post a VLOG post talking about this soon!  ;-)

For now, Happy Tending!
Kim

Passing time

Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its life believing it is stupid. -- Albert Einstein-

We all are bright and capable people, we just need to encourage a love for learning and doing.  We need to try to do things, even if they are hard.  Why do we go about setting goals we already know we can attain?  I am guilty.  GUILTY. 

Each of us are creative beings, but society puts restraints on us, shackling us into their confines and ideas of what is and isn't beauty. We are constantly being told what is and isn't good.  Why do we feel we have to color within the lines?  Shouldn't we set goals that stretch us beyond those lines?  Goals should stretch us, and make us leap. We need to open our minds and step out of the box that someone else put us in.  Goals are something we should set high, and they require work. 






I am busy making plans for what to create for the February Barter Fair here on the KP.  What will Promise Farms have to share in the middle of winter?  Nature Bags, Chicken Goodies, Doggie Goodies, bread, and later on very possibly flavored adult beverages. But in the meantime, we dream and set goals, making a leap and stretching ourselves.  Taking action and actively working toward our dream. 



Lines Written in Spring

Today I sat and thought about this poem as I pondered spring and all the things still left to do. 

My mind began to wander, I began to think....maybe it would be better that I look to how nature treats spring rather than how man treats it.  Its not a season meant to begin the hurry and hustle, but its also a time to reflect on beauty and glory, and new birth.  

Yes, preparing for planting is needed, but we need to be purposeful in what we do.  Do we truly love the air we breathe?  Ok, this isn't literal, but think about what its saying (or at least give some thought to my musings...and humor me *wink*).  Do we love where we are and what God has given us?  Has our season of prayer and thanksgiving really passed so swiftly?  

Perhaps this season of resolutions should be more about reflections and actions and less about weight loss, healthy eating, and getting good grades.

Perhaps, we need to carry that spirit of thankfulness with us for longer than a couple months.  

Perhaps we should seriously look at our life and see what it really looks like.   

Maybe a spring cleaning should come early and we should sweep the dust away so we can look really hard and see where our feet really are grounded upon.  

Is it on solid ground?

and MAYBE I am up to late, got too much fresh air, ate too much birthday cake or any number of things and they have taken their toll on me.  Maybe I am blowing a lot of smoke. Maybe...

Lines Written in Spring

William Wordsworth

 I heard a thousand blended notes,

While in a grove I sat reclined,

In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts

Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

To her fair works did Nature link

The human soul that through me ran;

And much it grieved my heart to think

What man has made of man.

Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,

The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;

And 'tis my faith that every flower

Enjoys the air it breathes.

The birds around me hopped and played,

Their thoughts I cannot measure:

But the least motion which they made

It seemed a thrill of pleasure.

The budding twigs spread out their fan,

To catch the breezy air;

And I must think, do all I can,

That there was pleasure there.

If this belief from heaven be sent,

If such be Nature's holy plan,

Have I not season to lament

What man has made of man?

Quiet Peace

Quiet Peace
Kim~~2014

My senses alert
in-tune with the rythm
of the water and wind.

Soft rain drops
fall from heaven
sweet kisses that land upon my cheeks

Waiting for the tinkle
of laughter
to signal that my break is over.

But these few
stolen moments
enveloped in God's canvas

To be one
to be quiet
to be still and see the master's artistry

To be one with it
its divine
 There.  Hear it now?
the tinkle?

I look down into a child's flushed face
ripe with joy.
There is God's love complete.

So I have quiet, peace,
and all is well.

The Good, the bad, and the ugly

Someone posted a link or said they liked a post on line on Facebook.  I thought it explored an interesting concept.  It discussed a Christian's propensity to refer to everything as a blessing.   It was interesting how he described it.  Today many Christians say that everything under the sun is a blessing (and before you say anything, I contend that life itself is a blessing).  Now I am taking some liberties here, I don't know the author.  I don't know his life, so my presumptions are just that. 

I don't think he was saying we should never count all things from God as a blessing.  God himself says we can count all things blessings.  Deuteronomy 28:2 “Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.  All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God."  What are all the blessings that God promises Israel if they followed him?  We discover that later in the chapter.  I encourage you to read it.

Several verses in God's word discusses blessings.  Proverbs 28:20 "A faithful man will abound with blessings.."  Acts 13:34,  and Ephesians 1:1-3 which says, "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus:  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." 

I digress...  so I read his article and began to reflect upon his words there.  I do personally count my house as something God has given me.  Some might not count it as a blessing.  I can't change their attitude.  What matters is what I feel in my heart, and that is where I think we should look. We must look into our heart and discover if we truly do believe all things, good and the seemingly bad, are from God. 

When we lose a loved one, we don't see it as a blessing.  I don't think any death is a blessing, even when the person is in pain, but where I think the blessing comes into play is our attitude. Do we blame God or do we find strength and in that strength is the blessing?  I speak from experience in this.  Loss is never a something we call a blessing, but when we rely on God and pray for strength he hears our prayers and gives us peace.  That is a blessing.  

We were never promised a cake walk when we became Christians.  I think its an immature Christian that would ever believe that if you're Christian enough you reap bountiful rewards.  No, you might never reap any earthly rewards, but your blessings are in God.  You blessings from God are those you love, in your job that requires hours of toil, often back breaking labor, it maybe the fact that you have a piece of bread to eat...

None of us will have the same "blessings" as the next.  I have been told many children are a blessing from God, the presumption then is that if you have one, two, or none you somehow have failed in God's favor.  This is an unbiblical concept.  Yes children are a blessing, but they are just one kind.  Good health is a blessing, but its just one of the blessings God may give you.  If your home burns down you are not unblessed by God.  Your Christianity should never be questioned because of what you have or don't have. 

I will continue to say we view being able to work as a blessing.  I will continue to say having a home we can come home to a blessing.  I've been been through not having a home, so I know having one is a blessing.  Even when I didn't have a home, I consider myself blessed.  My family was together.   God's love and care never left us, even if some thought he did. 

Its outlook....  So it becomes more a matter of the state of your heart. This is what I have been reflecting on.

Blessed.  Count all things as blessing.  The Good, the bad, and the ugly...  Christ never said it would be a cake walk, but we have our sights set on something greater.

The heart of a lion

 God has created everything, and for everything there is a season.  I can have courage in that.  Even when I seem to be surrounded by enemies and strife is tossed my way, I can be courageous and forge ahead.  I must!   Even when it seems I fail, fail, and fail again.   God is mindful, even when we aren't deserving.  His mercy is a wonderful, glorious thing.   Take heart and be of good courage my friends, God is with us. 

O LORD, our Lord,
            How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
            Who have displayed Your splendor above the heaven
From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength
            Because of Your adversaries,
            To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
            The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
What is man that You take thought of him,
            And the son of man that You care for him?
(From Psalm 8)

Oh God, thank you for giving me mercy.  Thank you for understanding even when I don't.  Thank you for being mindful of my needs, even when I don't have the courage to voice them.  Who am I, Oh Lord, who I am?  Thank you for being my wise and wonderful Father.  I am unworthy, but I am proud to proclaim that I am your daughter.

God, when I consider the stars, the planets, the trees on our own hillsides, and even the tiny child within my embrace, who am I?  What have I done to make you care for me?  Yet you, dear LORD, care!  You care so much that you sent your ONLY son to live, die, be buried, and raise again so that I might partake in the promise.  I am humbled.   I grateful.  I sing your praise Father, I sing your praise!

Today I am reflecting on what courage and failure means.  How failure is not bad, but necessary.  This was brought up to me not just once but twice, by two unrelated people.  God did not create us to stay in a bubble He created us to impact the world.  Yes, sometimes we will feel like we fail, but we aren't really failing.  Not really.  Failing would be to never start in the first place.  Failing would be giving up.  Failing would be hardening your heart against everyone. 

Take courage.  If something doesn't work out, try again, maybe a different direction is what is needed.  God gives us nothing we can't overcome if we rely on him.  I read a blog recently about a woman who lost all three of her children 17 years ago.  Its unimaginable, yet God has gotten her through that fiery furnace and she has given ALL glory to him.  Another friend recently shared the story of her friend Ms. Wheel Chair America, Jenny Adams.  Jenny is an amazing child of God and her story of a lifetime of courage gives us courage.

So, I am reflecting on courage, how God is mindful of our wants, our concerns, our hopes, and even our dreams.

Seashore Tossed

Monday Reflections for  2/17/14

Today I am sharing a personal poem.  Years ago, I would sometimes journal in what I called "poems" and once in awhile I still do occasionally. 

I called this one "Seashore Tossed" and wrote it in 2014.  Yes very recently.  I have been reflecting a lot lately on God.  I find that when I take moments in my day to seek his peace, nay his presence and guidance, I reflect upon him throughout the day more readily.  Having an ongoing relationship with him is what is needed to hear his voice.  We can't hear it if we only visit him on Sundays or even more rarely than that. 

I can, I ought, and I will.  I can do al things through Christ who strengthens me.  I ought to daily seek a relationship with God.  When I do these things I will grow closer to him.  God doesn't want us only when we have troubles to unload.  Yes, we need to dump those at his feet, but he also wants to be invited as we rejoice in successes. 

Seashore Tossed

Kim/Garden Tenders 2014

Majestic serenity, simplistic beauty

Reign high priest on the rocky beach

Calling upon my soul to bid my rest;

 as I lay my burdens at his feet.

Calm, serene

The waves slowly lap at my feet;

My mind calms and my thoughts dispel

As I shake the clinging sand and seaweed away

I am reminded,

He is amidst the deep,

Watching me, comforting me, guarding me,

Even the deep within my heart.

He reigns with majestic serenity

He shows his love with the simplistic beauty

Before my eyes.

Of the gnarled wood;

I am reminded of the supreme sacrifice.

From the sea I was tossed into his arms.

With the incoming tide,

I am humbled.

To the hill side I climb,

Not looking back,

My eyes can only look toward him.

Monday Reflections explained

Monday Reflections.
 
I am going to use Mondays to reflect on the past week, share some thoughts, poems, and pictures.

I hope you enjoy this. Hopefully it helps me to keep always remembering the whys of things.  Why God has brought us to this place.  Why I am doing what I am doing and encourage me to always remember the mantra of "I can, I ought, I will" as I go about my daily tasks and planning for the week.

We all need moments of reflection and seeing if the path we are on is really where God would have us go.  Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.  II Corinthians13:5  We all need places to share our thoughts.  I guess this is where I should put the disclaimer....  these are thoughts, wonderings, sometimes very personal.  Please don't send or post hateful comments.  Feel free to comment, even if you disagree, but do so in a loving spirit, or don't do so at all. 

Today I am sharing a poem  I read recently.  Its "Into the Woodland" by Robert Patinson.  I find that when I am in the wood, I am often reflecting on God, his power, and his love for me.  He created the forest, rivers, oceans, meadows, plains, and majestic peaks for my eye, and I imagine him walking with me enjoying the damp earth and mossy trees full of little woodland creatures.  I imagine him hiding a smile at my daughters chatter as my husband explains some intricate matter of great importance.  I find great solace in peaceful places. 

 Into the Woodland
by Robert Patinson

I wonder further in the wood
then pause to take in all I could,
and there beneath its canopy
I'm caught up in all its beauty.

The colours start in palest green
a vibrant living leafy screen,
and spreading out in waves of pink
the Willow Herb and nettles link.

Insects buzz in whispered words,
the broad old Oak is full of birds
where Great Tits dare an early call,
beneath Jays dig within the sprawl.

Beyond a line of Foxglove towers
rise above a glade of flowers
and light, a shaft between the trees
guides me on with quiet ease.