Need Some Sull? (Soil)

Spring is here, and so are some changes to the outside of our house.  There have been many slow difficult tasks involved, but there has been definite progress.  I was really hoping to have been working on other projects inside the house, but as these outdoor projects were time sensitive we had to do them first.  This is what our house looked like when we moved in:

Our main issue was that the sidewalk in front of our house (that connected the front stairs to the driveway) was preventing water from flowing away and instead sending it under the house.  So, step one was to get rid of the sidewalk.  Two borrowed (and both broken) sledge hammers, a pick ax, and a rented jackhammer later the sidewalk was gone.

Whew!  That was some hard work.  Next we removed the large bushes to the right of the steps and then I relocated the small bushes to the space around the tree in the front.

Let me take this opportunity to say that I have never planted anything in my life.  When plants are brought into my house they usually receive a death sentence.  But I've been trying really hard, so hopefully the plants indoors and out will make it!

The next thing we needed was dirt.  Lots of dirt.  As previously mentioned, The Hubs was working crazy hours, so this task was taken over by an ambitious Wifey.  2,000 lbs. of soil later, I was ready to plant new bushes.

The ground was ready, but as I know nothing about plants it took me a while to decide what kind of bushes to plant.  I'm also a bargain shopper.  I knew I wanted something that would flower and that could handle the heat, and finally found some Abelia bushes that will hopefully treat me right!  When I asked the man at the nursery if I could grow this type of plant, he asked if I could change a flat tire.  When my answer was yes, he assured me I could grow these.  Not really sure how the two correlate, but they already have these crazy shoots of new growth which is awesome.  Our neighbors have tons of beautiful plants and dug up three of something that I don't remember the name of for us to plant, too.

If only I had my camera on me when we tried out the sprinklers for the first time this season.  Apparently we jackhammered into one of the pipes and had a geyser.  I thought it was rather entertaining, but it took Tim a while to come around to the funny side of things.  He got it all patched up and now all we need for the front to be finished is some sod to cover the rest of the dirt.

If you made it this far, I'm glad you were curious enough to read.

Opening Day

The Caves had quite the week last week!  Since The Hubs had been working so hard he took off Thursday and Friday so we could play.  We didn't travel anywhere but it still felt like a little vacation!

On Thursday we were chaperones for the PreK class at my old school for their trip to the zoo.  I hadn't ever been to this particular zoo and it was great!  We had two boys with us and they were tons of fun... jumping in puddles, acting like animals, crawling all over Tim, and so forth.  We were worn out by the time the trip was over.

On Friday my wonderful husband took me to Opening Day!  And though my boys did make me nervous for a while, they pulled out the win in the end.

Longest line I've ever had to wait in at the ballpark.

The boys are ready to go!

My fave David Murphy with the family of a Sandy Hook victim.  The dad
threw the first pitch.  It was really emotional.  

First pitch on the mound with the one and only Pudge Rodriguez catching.

We had standing room only tickets and this was where we stood.  Oops!

Hi-Ya and Happy Easter

If everyday life has not seemed enough to inspire me to write lately, what better reason than celebrating my Risen King to bring me out of hibernation?

The Hubs has been working like crazy.  His project was due for delivery on Monday so he had been working tons of hours with his team- we're talking until 10pm on a Friday night just to get up and go back on Saturday morning for the whole day.  So, Easter Sunday was the first break he had gotten in a while, and it was great to celebrate together and get to spend some relaxing time together.

I also have to brag on him a bit.  He recently had his annual review at work and rocked it!  I was able to read a copy of it and loved knowing the qualities his coworkers recognize in him that recommend him so well.  They spoke of his intelligence, work effort, and character.  Glad they see what I already know!

To celebrate My Ninja's awesomeness, I put streamers all over the kitchen and got an Easter egg dying kit.  We dyed the eggs Saturday night and the fun ensued!  Here's the finished product.  :)

Glad you were curious enough to read.

The hubs on: time to catch up!

Week 7,8,9,10,11:

Isaiah 53:6

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

Matthew 7:7

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

Ephesians 5:18

"Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit."

Galatians 5:22-23

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

Jeremiah 33:3

"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."

Background: 

I'll try not to make a habit of combining 5 weeks worth of material in one post. I want to talk about some stuff that is going on in my life. I hope you don't read this as a list of excuses. Rather, I would like to share about myself so that you can hear the workings of the one true God! In mid February, my wife lost her grandmother. We went out to her parents house for a few days before and around the actual funeral. Around that time, God had prepared us by revealing to us some beautiful things about heaven and His promises. I heard it said by people older than me (who had been to many more funerals than I have), "This was the best funeral service they had ever been to." Joy characterized the service.

The month of march has been jam-packed with work! We're getting close to a delivery date and trying to do our best to make sure our product is top-of-the-line. That being said, I'm working longer hours each day, sometimes into the weekends. I get worn out, grumpy, disgruntled, and really selfish. This also acts as a trigger for me to turn back to my sinful ways. But amidst it all, God has been SO refreshing! I LOVE IT! I've never realized how our Lord refreshes before. And now I can't get enough of that thought. I've been stretched by the world and all I can see is the beauty of my Father, His Son, and His Holy Spirit.

Observations: 

It is interesting to see all these verses together. God's remedy for our sin (placing it upon Jesus). The everlasting character of God and how he is faithful and sure. Our NEW life (not just our old life + some extra moral characteristics) filled and controlled by God's Spirit in contrast to being filled (drunk) and out of control by our own sinful selfishness. The choice fruit of the Spirit - who would not want a life characterized by these?? And finally, the majesty of God - always listening, always answering, and always with things that are more mighty than we can imagine!

Break it down: 

There are some rhymes in Isaiah (astray, way), Matthew has a 3-letter word, 4-letter word, 5-letter word (ask, seek, knock), my wife has told me she will teach me a song about the fruits of the Spirit. Other than that, if you are working on memorizing too, take heart! We're having just as hard a time :) I think we are currently at 7 out of 11. I've neglected to work with my wife. But there is still life in me and another day to build upon the Lord's foundation in my heart.

So far: 

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.

The Hubs on: are you hungry?

Week 6:

Matthew 5:6

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Background: 

One of Jesus’ disciples, Matthew, wrote the book of Matthew. It is a gospel. This means that it tells the good news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. In Matthew 5, Jesus is giving a sermon – the famous Sermon on the Mount. He is near the Decapolis which is a collection of 10 cities whose residents are known for their lawlessness. I used to think that this was a sermon for Jesus’ disciples. But in reality, most of the crowd came from pagan backgrounds.

Observations: 

The blessings that Jesus speaks of are often referred to as the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes have a special place in my heart because of my involvement with Celebrate Recovery. The eight principles of Celebrate Recovery find their biblical reference from the Beatituteds.

Break it down: 

I haven’t figured out a good one for this, yet.

So far: 

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

The Hubs on: who is we?

Week 5:

Romans 8:28

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Background: 

The book of Romans was a letter that Paul wrote to the believers who lived in Rome. In this section of the book, Paul introduces the idea that all creation is groaning, as in the pains of childbirth, waiting and suffering in a broken world until the return of Jesus Christ. But, we serve a good and faithful God.

Observations: 

I haven’t really heard this verse very often. The first thing I noticed was we and I went back to whom Paul was addressing. The we refers to believers. So the knowledge of the workings of God that follows is something that believers know and not the entire world. It’s like a Forever Family secret.

Break it down: 

The Forever Family secret is confidential "And WE know", comprehensive “ALL THINGS”, constructive “WORK together for good”, and conditional “to those who LOVE GOD, to those who ARE CALLED according to His purpose.”

So far: 

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Forgotten Memories

Have you ever suddenly remembered something that you didn't even know you had forgotten?  A certain sight, sound, or smell suddenly brings back a memory that has been safely tucked away for years.  This happened to me last week as I sat with my sweet Granny.  For those who don't know, I spent last week helping my parents take care of my grandmother.  She is nearing the end of her battle with dementia.

One night, after she was asleep in bed, I found her Bible and began to look through it.  The well-worn state of it was what originally attracted me, but as I began to search through it, memories began to surface.  Unlike me, who likes thing too particular to leave items loose and falling out of a book, my Granny had several things stuck in between the pages of this worn book.

A bulletin, a card, a note, a bill envelope, and then a nail file.  And suddenly I was picturing my Granny at her house instead of the assisted living facility, sitting in her recliner with the end table next to her stacked with word search puzzles, her Bible, the TV remote, and a dish of hard candy whose contents had been sitting long enough to become one big piece.  I never would have thought of it on my own, but when I saw the nail file, I remembered that she always had them sticking out of her Bible and word search books.

As I continued to look through I found a bulletin from a church my dad worked at 13 years ago and then a homemade card that I had sent to her.  The card I don't remember, but it has my name on it, and looks like the poor drawing skills of my childhood.  (They haven't improved.)

I was struck by how loved I have been in my life by not only my Granny, but the rest of my family who learned to love from her.  She taught us that faith is important and lived her life full of love for God and family.

As we have walked down this difficult path with Granny, I have found myself not knowing what to pray.  For a while I was simply praying for peace for her, but then a friend of mine sent me a scripture one day and as I read the context of it, I knew what to pray for:

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God!

He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:56-57

My prayer now, is for Granny's victory.  She belongs to Jesus and I know she is all too ready to be singing His praises when she is victorious over the sting of death.