Wednesday, March 21, 2012
WW: Sunrise Under the Rain
Monday, March 19, 2012
Inspiration Files: Home Libraries
I've always wanted a library in my home.
Not one of those stuffy, dark places with dusty books and formal chairs.
More like a bright, airy spot with lots of windows, like maybe a dining room.
Or a home office.
Definitely a window seat and cozy places to curl up and read!
Perhaps you don't have a whole room for a library. Maybe one wall of your living room would work better.
Here you could close the curtain to hide your library.
All you need is a comfortable chair...
Some book-inspired art...
Built-ins...
...or bookcases!
Don't forget to leave room for your favorite art work!
And top it off with a library ladder!
Do you have a library in your home?
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Barns of Benton County: Weathered Beauty
There is
this short cut on the way to town. Town, if you didn't know this
already, is 45 miles from our house. There are several teeny tiny dots
on the map between here and there, but no grocery stores, big box
stores, or clothes stores. We head to town--I guess it's a city--several
times a week. And sometimes we take a short cut.
It's a pretty straight line between home and town, but the paved road jogs a few miles while the gravel road is the short cut.
Of course sometimes you don't want to go on the gravel road for an extra 6 or 7 miles. Sometimes it's muddy. Sometimes it's snowy and the gravel road isn't plowed. Sometimes it's really really dusty and you don't want your car covered in that layer of filth. Sometimes there is fresh gravel on the road and you have to drive extra slow.
But then there are the times you do take the gravel short cut. Because you get to see stuff like this if you do.
Have you taken any short cuts lately?
It's a pretty straight line between home and town, but the paved road jogs a few miles while the gravel road is the short cut.
Of course sometimes you don't want to go on the gravel road for an extra 6 or 7 miles. Sometimes it's muddy. Sometimes it's snowy and the gravel road isn't plowed. Sometimes it's really really dusty and you don't want your car covered in that layer of filth. Sometimes there is fresh gravel on the road and you have to drive extra slow.
But then there are the times you do take the gravel short cut. Because you get to see stuff like this if you do.
Have you taken any short cuts lately?
Friday, March 16, 2012
A Word to the Perpetually Worried Mom
It's no secret that I'm a Christian. Hopefully my posts reflect my faith. Or you might have caught a direct reference in the occasional project. Or you can simply refer to the name of my blog! I don't normally have overtly religious topics, but I read something this morning that was like a calming salve to my mommy brain. I'd like to share it with you and throw in some pictures of my boys at the park yesterday, for your viewing pleasure!
He Shall Gather the Lambs With His Arm
As Jesus ministers in the streets of the cities, mothers with
their sick and dying little ones in their arms press through
the throng, seeking to come within reach of His notice.
Behold these mothers, pale, weary, almost despairing, yet
determined and persevering. Bearing their burden of suffering,
they seek the Savior. As they are crowded back by the
surging throng, Christ makes His way to them step by step,
until He is close by their side. Hope springs up in their hearts.
Their tears of gladness fall as they catch His attention, and
look into the eyes expressing such pity and love.
Singling out one of the group, the Savior invites her
confidence, saying, "What shall I do for thee?" She sobs out her
great want, "Master, that Thou wouldest heal my child."
Christ takes the little one from her arms, and disease flees at
His touch. The pallor of death is gone; the life-giving current flows through the veins; the muscles receive strength. Words
of comfort and peace are spoken to the mother; and then
another case, just as urgent, is presented. Again Christ
exercises His life-giving power, and all give praise and honor to
Him who doeth wonderful things.
We dwell much on the greatness of Christ's life. We speak
of the wonderful things that He accomplished, of the miracles that He wrought. But His attention to things accounted
small is even higher proof of His greatness.
Among the Jews it was customary for children to be
brought to some rabbi, that he might lay his hands upon them
in blessing; but the disciples thought the Savior's work too
important to be interrupted in this way. When the mothers
came desiring Him to bless their little ones, the disciples looked
on them with disfavor. They thought these children too young
to be benefited by a visit to Jesus, and concluded that He would be displeased at their presence. But the Savior understood
the care and burden of the mothers who were seeking to train
their children according to the word of God. He had heard
their prayers. He Himself had drawn them into His presence.
One mother with her child had left her home to find Jesus.
On the way she told a neighbor her errand, and the neighbor
wished to have Jesus bless her children. Thus several mothers
came here together, with their little ones. Some of the children
had passed beyond the years of infancy to childhood and
youth. When the mothers made known their desire, Jesus
heard with sympathy the timid, tearful request. But He
waited to see how the disciples would treat them. When He
saw the disciples reproving the mothers and sending them
away, thinking to do Him a favor, He showed them their
error, saying, "Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and
forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God." Mark
10:14. He took the children in His arms, He laid His hands
upon them, and gave them the blessings for which they came.
The mothers were comforted. They returned to their
homes strengthened and blessed by the words of Christ. They
were encouraged to take up their burden with new cheerfulness
and to work hopefully for their children.
Could the afterlife of that little group be opened before us,
we should see the mothers recalling to the minds of their children
the scene of that day, and repeating to them the loving
words of the Savior. We should see, too, how often, in after
years, the memory of these words kept the children from
straying from the path cast up for the ransomed of the Lord.
Christ is today the same compassionate Savior as when
He walked among men. He is as verily the helper of mothers
now as when He gathered the little ones to His arms in Judea.
The children of our hearths are as much the purchase of His blood as were the children of long ago.
Jesus knows the burden of every mother's heart. He who
had a mother that struggled with poverty and privation,
sympathizes with every mother in her labors. He who made a
long journey in order to relieve the anxious heart of a Canaanite
woman will do as much for the mothers of today. He who
gave back to the widow of Nain her only son, and in His
agony upon the cross remembered His own mother, is touched
today by the mother's sorrow. In every grief and every need,
He will comfort and help.
Let mothers come to Jesus with their perplexities. They
will find grace sufficient to aid them in the care of their
children. The gates are open for every mother who would lay her
burdens at the Savior's feet. He who said, "Suffer the little
children to come unto Me, and forbid them not" (Mark
10:14), still invites mothers to bring their little ones to be
blessed by Him.
~Ellen White, Ministry of Healing, pp. 38-42
Monday, March 12, 2012
Inspiration Files: Not Your Average Garden
I wasn't a gardener before moving to Iowa. In fact, we didn't have a garden at all at our first house. When we moved out here in the country, we couldn't wait for spring so we could have a huge garden--and huge it was! Like a quarter acre of weeding to do... I've learned a lot in three years of gardening! Nothing like jumping in and going for it! Since spring is in the air, I thought you'd like to see a collection of interesting, unique, inspirational or just plain beautiful garden ideas I've been collecting on Pinterest. You don't have to have a few acres in the cornfields of Iowa to pull off some of these ideas either!
From jars on your window sill to containers on your patio to raised beds with attention to colors and textures, it looks like if you can imagine it, it can grow!
What about you? Do you garden? Did you wish you had the space and just learn that you do? Or do you have acres of untamed wilderness that you strive to make beautiful as well as edible?
 |
| Beauty 4 Ashes garden, 2010 |
From jars on your window sill to containers on your patio to raised beds with attention to colors and textures, it looks like if you can imagine it, it can grow!
What about you? Do you garden? Did you wish you had the space and just learn that you do? Or do you have acres of untamed wilderness that you strive to make beautiful as well as edible?
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Barns of Benton County: White Hog Barn
Let me clarify: the barn is white, not the hogs.
This is the barn on a hog farm not far from our place. Well, not that close either--probably 4 or 5 miles, so we don't smell them. I didn't know until a few years ago how HUGE hogs are! I also didn't know that the cylindrical structure in the background is a grain bin. So that's not at all where one would keep the hog feed. Duh. I'm thinking the hogs are fed in that other white structure in front of the barn, but I don't really know that, so I should probably stop. right. now.
Enjoy!
This is the barn on a hog farm not far from our place. Well, not that close either--probably 4 or 5 miles, so we don't smell them. I didn't know until a few years ago how HUGE hogs are! I also didn't know that the cylindrical structure in the background is a grain bin. So that's not at all where one would keep the hog feed. Duh. I'm thinking the hogs are fed in that other white structure in front of the barn, but I don't really know that, so I should probably stop. right. now.
Enjoy!
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