My little gardener

My Little Garden

I have a little garden in front of my house.  Over the years I have added a few things.  I am no gardener.  My Grandma Cramer, now she was a gardener.  When she left her home in her mid 80's, she still had a plant that my father's cubscout troop had given her 50 years ago.  What made her an excellent gardener?  My grandma was one of the most patient people I ever met and frankly, she spent lots of time caring for those plants.  Gardening is hard.  Not only do you have to plant the seeds, but you have to weed, and prune, and feed those plants. You have to get dirty.

I can see two parallels in my own life.  My spiritual life is like a garden.  God ultimately is the gardener, the one who planted the seed of faith and causes it to grow.  He has also made me a steward.  I am to do the hard work as a tender of my own little patch.  I have to go in and root out, with the Lord's help, those sins that would so easily choke out my garden.  I have to be fed by His Word and that means actually spending time each day with the Lord.

My little man is also a garden that I am to tend as a parent.  I have to give him good food from God's Word and help to guide and grow him into a godly young man by training him as well. This is messy work, but so fruitful!

Gardening is hard work, but the rewards are great.  What a blessing that God allows us to participate in displaying His beauty to the world!

Life is like a bowl of . . .

So I have this brass bowl. I've always loved it but I don't know what to do with it. For a while it sat collecting counter top clutter. I'm in Spring Cleaning mode, which means I have the urge to re purpose things. I'd love to display this bowl. Any ideas?

Wisdom from Charles Spurgeon

In a devotional taken from the Treasury of David by Spurgeon, I found this quote:

To be assured that our sighs and songs shall both have free access to our glorious Lord is to have reason for hope in the most deplorable condition.

I am thankful that this season of life is one of song, but I am thankful that the Lord hears my sighs as well. What a comfort!

Go to the ant . . .

The dreaded springtime battle has begun.

"Mommy LOOOK! Theys a lot'a bugs. I gone get dose ants."

It seems that we are neighbors with a few of the little insects with six legs. Every time it rains in the spring, "The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah." I am hardly cheering. Though these little black creations are an Biblical example of diligence, I wish they would be diligent somewhere else.

Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. Proverbs 6: 6-8

I'd welcome any insight from you about how to convince my little neighbors that the Lankford home is not nearly as comfy as their hill outside.

He's all mine . . .

Who is this man, you may ask? He's my hubby. My fun loving, smart, super-talented rock star hubby. This picture captures so much of who he is. I love it.

We have a family of friends that we love dearly. Heather is the daughter of our friends Lori and Tim and an amazing photographer. She took this picture for a magazine shoot for a double page spread on Orphan Project in a UK rock magazine called Fireworks. She is amazing. Check out her other work at http://heathergracephotography.blogspot.com

Bless this nest

I found the cutest and easiest craft for spring: birds' nests. All you need are 2 ingredients and you have an adorable and edible craft. Buy a bag of chow mein noodles (mine was $1.65) and a bag of morsels. I used milk chocolate.

1. Melt the morsels in a double boiler or a metal bowl on top of a saucepan filled with boiling water.

2. Mix the chocolate with the chow mein noodles.

3. Let cool a bit and then get messy! Put a blob on a sheet of wax paper or a plate. Let the little one push down the center to make a place for the eggs.

4. Let cool and harden. Add some jellybean "eggs" or other treat. Add a marshmallow peep (if you have one).

Super cute, fast, cheap, and easy! The best part is licking their fingers when they are done!