Get 5 Free Father’s Day cards at Shutterfly today (promo code DADCARD), and free shipping for orders over $30 (SHIP30)  AND if you shop through Ebates you earn 8%  :).

This was a fun project, making the Father’s Day cards, as I let each girl have a turn at the computer to pick and build a card, then we did 2 more for grandfathers.

I also decided to give the “photo books” a try and ordered a photobook of all the pictures we took during Petal Rose’s Mary Poppins production.  As much as I formerly enjoyed scrapbooking, it just isn’t something I can set aside time & finances for in this season.  Maybe these photo book deals will be a good way to preserve some special memories 🙂

Thin Places, a memoir by Mary E. DeMuth

Often I put a “hold” on books from the library website that I hear about from friends and on the internet.  This book was “requested” so far back that when I picked it up, I couldn’t remember requesting it, and assumed wrongly, and rightly what it was about.  One of the blogs I follow is imperfect prose, where Emily writes and has spoke volumes to me on being a mother to daughters, on how to LOVE them, how to protect them from those prowling eating disorders that steal the life of so many young people.  So the title “Thin Places” seemed to me about that.  After the first chapter I almost sent the book back to the library.  Even told my dear Builder that I was going to.  This woman, Mary E DeMuth, wrote this book for me.  I’m pretty certain of it.  Not that every single thing was the same as what I have experienced or struggle with, but boy was it close.
 
“What if you could retrace your life and discover its thin places -places where the division between this world and the eternal fades?  Thin places are snatches of holy ground, tucked into the corners of our world, where we might just catch a glimpse of eternity.  They are aha moments, the beautiful realizations.”

Mary DeMuth is brutally honest in her memoir.  So very open, honest and courageous.  The weaving of this story she tells with broken, strong, fragile, beautiful imagry in her words.  These stories are terrible hard to tell, terrible hard to hear.  But they need to be told, and they need to be heard.  And she says in the chapter Amazing Life 

“If I throw all the journals out, my reputation will be safer, won’t it?  No one will know the depth of my depravity.  No one will have the fodder to expose my soul to the world like a spiritual muckraker.  All true.  But they also won’t see a wrestling pilgrim, following painstakingly after Jesus. No one will see the portrait of the girl who falls down, then gets up.  The grace that shines brighter on a darkened life will seem duller without my darkness.  And maybe I’ll be tempted -if I throw away my journals-to stand a little taller, believing that somehow I corrected myself, that I became free by my own doing.”

And she quotes 2 Corinthians 1:3,4 ~ “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

We love gardening here at Columbine Gardens and this year, with the new Square Foot Garden boxes that Builder built, it’s even more fun, becuase it’s more organized!  We have a few other delight sprinkle through the yards too…

At the very front of our veggie & herb garden Mae & Chica planted a cut flower bed and a sunflower bed.  We put in a geraniam, African daisy & some snapdragon plants from Lowes as well.  We are looking forward to fresh flowers for our table, and also welcome the bees & butterflies that might fly in for a visit.

the foliage on the snapdragons doesn’t look healthy, but it is still blooming.  We’re not sure, but maybe it is too hot in this part of the garden.  Mae & Chica sowed Bachelor Buttons and Hollyhocks in this box too.

Sunflower seedlings

Over by the bedroom windows we planted honeysuckle, two years ago.  One of the plants died during our absence last year, and we replaced it with this beauty
 
The other is slowly coming back and we are pleased to see it starting to reach for the trellis.

There are pretty daisies nodding their friendly welcome by the mailbox. 
Years ago our oldest daughter grew a delightful daisy ring around a maple tree.  Those daisies were so pretty, and now daisies, Shasta Daisies actually, always bring Miss Sparkles right into my thoughts.

“God is interested in the great reversal.  Not clean hands and a dirty heart, but a clean heart with dirty hands.  It reminds me of this verse:  ‘Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:  to look after orphans and widows in their distress (dirty hands) and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world (clean heart).’  James 1:27”  Thin Places by Mary E DeMuth

As this past week we read posts from the blessed heartbroken, those who traveled to the Phillipines to visit the Compassion projects and met the people, so much bubbled in me.  So much want to GO myself, with Builder and children.  Travel to “that” place, meet those children, see their world. 

I know this verse above, I believe it and seek to do it.  In all this affluence, all this abundance doing it here seems so much less.   Then I looked into the eyes of the not so little ones entrusted to me, the little ones who visit for a few hours a week and it comes to me.  There are widows abandoned by their men, children orphaned by their fathers, the heartbroken, and the simply sweet young hearts of our own to look after, right here, right now. 

The real ache, the real trouble with this verse, keeping oneself from being polluted by the world.  To be sure to use this abundance and affluence to HIS glory, for the care of whoever He brings our way, or puts on our hearts, and to teach the precious “hope for the future” that dwells right here with us.  Wisely, as stewards.

counting:  a few of the gifts from  #571-583

Bubbly laughter of children

Cookie Dough birthday gift
Flowers outside my kitchen window
Baby birds in the birdhouse
God’s word, ever true
Books that make me think
Guidance in decision making
Safety
Hurts revealed
Sleeping children
Sunshine
Hearing the Spirit speak, and hearing Him say, “Yes, it is ME” through the message on Sunday morning
Growth in the garden, hope for growth in my heart
Discouragement, an opportunity to purpose to be steadfast in hope
Scriptures with the children

if you would like to listen to this song, scroll down to the bottom of the page to still the playlist that is set to fill this little corner of cyberspace with quiet worship of Jehovah, the God who loves.

“Great” nephews have been spending time with us the last few weeks, and recently brought a bag of hopeful campfire fun.

Our city is under a fire ban so we are not able to use our fire ring, and roast hot dogs & marshmallows over the fire…

but we improvised!

and had a GREAT time…

We’ve also had a delightful time with the 3 year old twin sons of one of our oldest daughter’s friends from high school.

It is with joy and hope that we pulled out an old favorite,

to read again and share with the younger ones who God allows us time with.

Summer is off to a great start!

Last week I shared my joy over some recent lab results.

After conversing with Builder a few times about this topic (I was actually pretty excited) we’ve come up with a few more small changes to add to my daily life.  And I am planning on making an appointment in a year to see how those changes will affect these “numbers.”

Changes~
Continually increasing my water intake, and continuing to steer away from soda, sweeten drinks
Walking at least 3 times a week, Stretch & Strength 2 times a week
Going outside every morning that it is possible, to read for 15 minutes (vitamin d & Mother Nurture)
Taking a vitamin d supplement in our smoothies
Consistently taking a calcium supplement
Increasing the amount of soluable fiber in my diet (need to do more research on this one)

So tell me, are there small changes you are making in your life, with the hope to reap some happy results?

this morning the cool morning air beckoned me out with Bible, journal, book, coffee and phone.  what stillness filled my busy mind as the coolness caused me to tuck my feet under me, and to pull on a sweater, as the chickadees tried to gather the scratch grain left by the chickens before “the dog” laughingly scatters them in his patrol through the yard.

i am so thankful for the gratitude community, for Ann’s sharing her journey toward grace & learning to make the days count by counting the gifts.  even when life is crazy swirling around me, when the math book brings tears and the sweet extra children arrive before i’ve finished my first cup of coffee…the practice continues, my heart silently counts the gifts…and sometimes some of them get typed onto the list.

those which have been recorded this week: #558~571

Scripture memory box ~ how that little box helps us!
Dinner in the crockpot at 8am
Reading Leading Little Ones, again!
And Mr Popper’s Penguins, both with a new set of kiddos
Smores in the backyard
Baby birds cheeping
An opportunity to listen
Four extra little feet
Energetic boys EARLY
Herding chickens by harmonica
Mountain chickadees in the morning
Listening husband
Morning prayer times
Sleeping children

Just this past week I had one of those times, where I left off a conversation with my FATHER with “I just don’t get this LORD.  This is distasteful to me, it’s so harsh and…” and the loving FATHER that He is, He gives me this response…

“I’m like a piece of clay trying to explain to other pieces of clay what the potter is like. Think about that for a second. It shows the silliness for any of us to think we are an expert on Him. Our only hope is that He would reveal to us what He is like, and then we can just repeat those things.” Francis Chan

No, my ways are not anything like HIS ways. HIS ways work, and my way so often doesn’t, so often hurts people’s hearts. Thank God for His great love and mercy.  Not that in this particular moment I thought that I really KNEW HIM, or that I was an expert in anything, but I had an opinion on HIS word.  What grace, this God, that would keep pursuing me with truth, rather than give me what I really deserve.