Elephant Ears and Why

Elephant Ears...I remember my grandmother digging those things up and giving them away to her friends and family. She had planted a few many years ago and they took her yard over. She loved them for several reasons. They grew back each year, more healthy, beautiful and abundant than the year before. It was free to hand off extras to family and friends and it wouldn't kill her own plants out, and they were a gorgeous color of green that brightened up the yard.

I had the chance to buy some at Atwoods the other day. They were fairly cheap at just $0.99 so I got 5 bulbs. We planted them this evening and I will wait, probably impatiently, for them to peak their pretty tips out of the earth and up into beautiful, green vegetation.

We have a small deck where we enter and exit the house. I put them on the outer edge of the deck so that they will have plenty of room to grow. I remember grandmothers being in a place that got very little sunlight so I am hoping these will work as well for me as they did for granny.

I find it amazing that these palm sized bulbs will grow, wherever planted, with fervor and joy. They care not about what is going on around them. They don't worry about if it is sunny, shady, rainy, or cloudy. They only need soil and some water. The other elements aren't nearly as important as the direct needs. Although sun is desirable it isn't necessary. 

Next spring there will be more than 5 bulbs in the earth. I will be able to dig some of those bulbs up and plant them near the back of the house and out towards the pond where I like to set and watch the animals. I will be able to share them with friends who can enjoy them.

I wonder what would happen if we never complained about the surroundings but always went ahead and did what we are suppose to do. I wonder how much better life would be if  I was less busy questioning why God allowed me to be there and more busy asking Him what He wanted me to do while I was in the particular situation.

I often get irritated with my kids for wanting to know "Why" about everything yet I turn around and do the same thing to the Heavenly Father. It is as if I am still a small child when it comes to obedience to God and yet I correct my own children for the same behavior I display towards the Lord. This is one of those things I seriously need to be praying about and working on.

Just when I think its clean....more dirt is revealed

I have spent the last 3 days shampooing the carpets in my home. Today I decided to do our bedroom. 4 hours later I find myself going over the same spots. I thought they were clean and even told my kids "look how nice the carpet looks". I decided to just run over it real quickly another time to check and make sure I got all of it clean. 

I found more dirt. Nasty, stinky, filthy, water. The floor looked clean. The floor smelled clean. The floor appeared clean. Guess what wasn't clean? Yes, the floor.

After about the 6th time of going over the same spot and having to change the nasty water that had come up from the carpet and refill the clean water I wondered if this is what happens when God looks at my heart. How many "hidden" things do I keep there. I sweep out the large things so everyone thinks my heart is pure and clean. What about the secrets that are hidden that no one else sees? What about the bad word I said when I was angry? What about the fact that I spoke badly about someone behind their back? What about the fact that I begrudgingly helped someone for the wrong reason? What about the days I don't spend time with God? What about the money I spend on needless items because I want them when I know there is someone in need? What about the anger I took out on my husband? The post that was passive-aggressive I posted on facebook? 

What about all the things I do that others don't notice? Do I always ask forgiveness for the things I do that no one else sees? Am I sure my heart is pure and right? 

I never dreamed that shampooing carpets would bring my to my knees in tears crying out to the Lord. I am thankful that the Lord uses even menial tasks to show me where I need to change things and what needs work. I am thankful that he gives me the desire to do those tasks so that my mind is "unbusy" so he can talk to me and show me things.

I think, so often, we see housework and those things that we have to do when we are mom's, housewives, employees, and women as things that don't truly matter to anyone. The truth is that without those things our families would not function as well as they do. I am proud to be able to do those things and show my family love and responsibility in the small things in life.

Thank You Jesus for speaking to me today!

Trials, Pain, Agony....The Week of Pain

Tears! Agony! Emotional, Mental, Physical, and Spiritual Pain.

That is what this week has held for so many people across the world. It feels we have been consumed by the tragedies of the last week. 

Morgan and I lost two very special men in our lives this last week. Both strong men who loved life. Darrel and Ted were both country "folk" with loving, compassionate hearts, big smiles, great stories of days gone by, sweet spirits, and humble lives. We lost Darrel the first day, the Boston Explosion happened the next day, West, Texas explosions happened the following day, and Ted was lost the next day. 

To add to the pain the Anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing was this week, the Virginia Tech Massacre, the Titanic sank, Abraham Lincoln passed away, the Great Mississippi Flood occurred during this week, the US Embassy in Lebanon was bombed, the Waco Branch Dividian fire, and Columbine. 

For those of us who have been struck with more than one of these tragedies causing lives we loved to be lost it is a very hard week. 

As a nation we pull together, rely on each other and God, in times of distress. However, as days go by and weeks turn into months we lose the intimate relationship with others and with God. Days get busy, joy returns, we "go on" the best we can. We forget how much we need others and how badly we need to rely on the Lord daily. 

We forget that the Lord helped us to not lose our minds when these bad things happened. We forget that He comforted us through other peoples words and actions. We forget how compassionate and loving the Lord is and how deeply He loves and cares for us. I am guilty of forgetting. I am guilty of having a few good days in a row and forgetting to have my "quiet time" with the Lord and meditate on Him and His Word. 

I am so thankful that the Lord never forgets to have time with me. I am so very thankful that His compassion never fails. His strength, love, and compassion is new everyday. He is faithful.

I hear people saying "Why would a loving God do this, or allow this?". God gives us each a free will. He allows us to make choices. He doesn't want to dictate to us what we are to do. He wants us to come to him, freely, and choose His path. When people do not choose His path and they do evil things innocent people are hurt. The Lord is always there to pick up the pieces of those broken hearts caused by evilness in this world. 

People as me "What if your wrong and there is no God?". My answer is always  that "if I am wrong and there is no God, then I have had a pretty good life. I have had wonderful, caring friends, a person who I talked to constantly and that never left me--even if He wasn't really there, I have learned the meaning of beauty. I have seen the wonders of flowers blooming, of a renewing of life in Spring, of my grandchildren being born. I have seen so much and lived such a good life because I was positive." Then I always ask them..."What if I am right? Can you say you saw the same things?"

Trials and tribulation will always be here on earth. No one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. Even those we love will sometimes hurt us without every meaning too. Relying on the Lord day-to-day is the ONLY way I can get through all the ups and downs in this world. I am thankful that I live in a place where my beliefs don't cause me to be imprisoned or beheaded. 

Thank you Jesus for peace among the storm. 

A Lesson In Frugality

When I was younger my mother worked 2 jobs most of the time. On occasion she worked 3 if times were exceptionally hard. My mother was also very frugal. She could feed our family, and well I might add, and never make us feel like we didn't have money.

Naturally, this was in a time where people didn't frown on making large batches of food, never having steak, and making use of what you had. My brothers and I were not afraid of beans and fried potatoes. They were a staple in our home. I do recall a time when my mother put sugar in the beans. We had eaten beans for several days in a row and she didn't want us to have to eat the same thing. She felt like changing it up would make it appear different. I love her for doing it, however, that had to have been the worst thing, to date, that I had ever tasted. I learned several lessons from the sugar in the beans. First, sugar should never be put in brown beans as long as I am going to eat them. Secondly, loving your kids enough to not want to make them endure bad times is a wonderful thing but children cannot always be protected from reality, nor should they be. I also learned that sacrifice, for someone else to be happy, is not a bad thing. It is something we do because we love them. Finally, I learned that there was nothing my mother wouldn't do for me in order to make this world seem a little better. I must confess that I didn't learn these lessons at the age of seven when all these things happened. It would take me years to realize their importance (well I pretty much knew sugar in beans wasn't good immediately...other than that lesson it took me awhile to grasp the others).

For dinner tonight I made my mom's goulash. It is a simple dish that warms my belly, is cheap to make, and always gives me left overs for lunch the next day. The total cost of the goulash was $8.62. It made 16 one cup servings. That made the cost per serving only .54 cents. This will feed my family twice. It is healthy, gives everyone their vegetables, is filling, and quick to make. I am thankful that my mother showed me that food can be healthy, filling, and frugal.  

24 Hours

24 hours. The amount of time in a single day. 

So much can happen in that time. Things that make you wonder, fear, laugh, cry, and shed layers of yourself while you take everything in.

The bombing at the Boston Marathon just made yesterday difficult for the United States. Many people felt the same reaction as when 9/11 and the OKC bombings occurred. It seems that an accurate account of who was hurt, lost their life, or were affected will not be known for some time. 

Central Oklahoma--Earthquakes? Today we felt them shaking the house. The lights are still flickering off and on intermittently. I recall last year we had several days that earthquakes shook our home as well. I thought Oklahoma was tornado alley? Guess we now should watch not only for the sky to pick us up and take us away but for the earth to falter underneath our feet.

Abortion measures were approved by the Oklahoma Senate today bringing what I can only believe will be a measure of conversation about Constitutional Rights.

I remember being a young girl, growing up in Muskogee, Oklahoma. The worst thing we worried about was our brothers and fathers being in Operation Desert Storm. At the time it seemed like a horrible thing to have to worry about. I don't know if it is because of my current age or the state of the World that I wonder back in my mind to the time when things were a lot less horrible.

The town of Muskogee if now riddled with crime. Drugs, hatred, anger, and a poor economy has taken over. People hate people they have never even met. 

As I sat on my little farm today and thought back about the last 24 hours I realized that I am still, somewhat, far removed from the insanity that we currently call reality. That doesn't make my heart hurt any less for the victims of tragedies nor does it mean I just don't realize what is going on. I just don't have the normal day-to-day issues that a lot of people have. For that I will be forever grateful. 

My kids can walk barefoot, their biggest worry is stick-tights not about a dirty drug needle thrown on the ground. My kids eat "beans and taters" and don't realize we may be tight on money. My kids can help a mama goat birth a kid goat, take care of baby ducks, gather eggs, take the trash out after dark, and walk around the "block", without fear of being shot.

For all of these things I feel unbelievably blessed and pray that being far removed never feels like a burden but always like a gift from God.

I pray you each have a blessed night!