June Garden 2019

Ah... the joys of the first fresh foods from the garden again!

And the beauties of our own flowers to enjoy outdoors and in...

Sadly, this season also comes with a cost: tick bites. Mom reacted to one enough that we felt safer getting her on the 30 days of antibiotics - especially since she has the genes that are most likely to end up with chronic Lyme disease. (Hmm, wonder where Elsa and I got our genes...!!)

Music (and Marvel) in a Rest

When carrying a load of laundry out to the sunny clothesline, what should I spy but a dragonfly peering down at me?! Before disturbing its rest, I went back to the house for a camera. 

"There is no music in a rest, but there is the making of music in it.  Our life's melody is broken off here and there by 'rests,' and we foolishly think we have come to the end of the tune. God writes the music of our lives, and the rests are not to be slurred over, lest we destroy the melody. If we say to ourselves, 'There is no music in a rest,' let us not forget that music can never be complete without the rests."

- Author Unknown

A closer view made me laugh at the grotesque face even as I stopped to marvel at this sample of our Creator's handiwork.

Be Still Again

If one began reading my blog in the past couple of years, they may wonder what it has to do with "being still." Yes, we are growing stronger and filling our days more than when I began to blog, though Elsa aptly summarized our days as still falling into the categories of "sick" and "sicker" when I was having trouble dragging this body through a day last week.

We thankfully came home from another week of travels for 6-month doctor appointments  recently with no new diagnoses (for the second time in a row!) But the strain of that trip combined with many other triggers for our bodies this spring have set us back.

Of course there are the simply "sick" days when we are so much stronger than we used to be that it is a thrill to tackle some house cleaning or gardening. 

I finally got our table-grapes freed from
several years' accumulation of dead canes. 

Then follows a night with four or less hours of sleep due to adrenal fatigue and a "sicker" day when we go into survival mode with knitting and audiobooks. (C. S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia" have been great for re-listening together.)

And when the "sicker" days pile up for a variety of reasons, we once again reach the "sickest" days when there isn't even enough strength to knit and no appetite to eat. Then I am reminded that I have been pushing too hard again and forgetting to "be still" enough. These are the times to take naps both before and after breakfast,

...quietly look at the beauties with which God has surrounded me,

...and review the truths memorised on stronger days.

By the way, we have been greatly blessed in this area by a free, new app designed in part by a friend of ours. See SonicBiblia.org for a great way to memorise and meditate on God's word! This web app even includes an audio Bible for listening to whole chapters at a time.

2019 Birthdays Begin

Our first two family birthdays for the year are Maren and Jason's. It is always special to make the treck over to celebrate with them. 

This year Jason's grandpa got in on Maren's birthday soon after moving to a local nursing home from out of state.

 Remember what I recently wrote about needing to cook large amounts? For this meal we filled the stove, an extra induction burner, and the Instant Pot! What fun to pull Maren's special Russian china out of the old buffet we grew up with at the lake cabin.

Just a few weeks later comes Jason's birthday. But since we were out of state at the time, he let us come and celebrate a little late.

Party activities included sharing stories and pictures from Florida and taking care of Maren, because (drum roll, please)...

... by this time we were looking forward to a new family birthday -- a baby in November! We praise God for this answer to much prayer and continue to pray for Mama Maren and the little one we are waiting to meet.

Thankfully Maren is past a difficult couple months of 24-hour "morning" sickness and has quit losing weight as food is usually tasting better again. And thankfully this week is cooler than the past which was over 100 degrees in the greenhouses - severely taxing both the new mama and papa every day.

Hungry

Another gain that has held on overall since our winter weeks in Florida is an increased appetite. It can be hard to find enough leftovers to fill me up, and we have to cook very large recipes to leave enough to freeze for future meals around here.

Some breakfasts require double or triple what they used.

This brings to mind the wonderful promise in Christ's Sermon on the Mount: 

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

Matthew 5:6 (ESV)

"The Lord Jesus calls those blessed, who hunger and thirst after righteousness. He means those who desire above all things to be entirely conformed to the will of God. They long not so much to be rich, or wealthy, or learned, as to be holy. Blessed are all such! They shall have enough one day. They shall 'awake up after God's likeness and be satisfied' (Ps. 17:15)."

J.C. Ryle

My Father's World, III - Honeysuckle Days

In such a late spring, I don't think the honeysuckle bushes on the western border of our land have blossomed yet. And our hardy honeysuckle vine is always later than those. At least that gave me time to tackle the much needed trim we only manage every few years. (For an online picture that looks like our Lonicera in bloom, search "John Clayton Climbing Honeysuckle Vine.")

There is no "before" picture, but the wheelbarrow ended up even more full than in the picture above - showing how very much dead vine was ready to be cleaned off the fence rails. I even made a rustic wreath from the twisted strands.

An old bird's nest was tucked away in the middle of the mass - thankfully empty when I had to tear it out. 

The rose bushes at the other end of the fence can now breathe again as well. And a little heart's ease surprised me with its colorful smile as I pulled away dead leaves and grass.

"This is my Father's world,

O let me ne'er forget

That though the wrong seems oft so strong,

God is the Ruler yet.

This is my Father's world:

Why should my heart be sad?

The Lord is King: let the heavens ring!

God reigns: let earth be glad!"

Maltbie D. Babcock, 1901

ADDED LATER: 
Here are the honeysuckle blossoms in July.