Planting My First Veggie Garden

I decided to plant a small veggie garden in pots this year! I planted green onions, spinach, basil, green beans, and some flowers. It was fun! And the whole thing was only $20—hopefully savings for the veggies we'll get, but even if not, it's been fun. Here are some photos of the planting.

Ready to start planting!

Spinach goes in here...

Loved these daisies at the flower store!

My flower selections

Basil, all planted.

My little garden!

My flowers

More flowers in the pot from Mom B.

8 days later... the first onion sighting! Hooray!

Lessons on Marriage

What do the following items have in common?

• Cheese balls
• Mr. Lawyer-pants
• Mountain meadows
• Growing asparagus
• 9 minutes of prayer
• Gold butterfly necklaces
• Sweet Dorito vomit

They all help us grow to have a thriving marriage!

Intrigued? Read on....

We just got home from the 2013 CrossWay Marriage Retreat. It was filled with all kinds of good (figurative... and literal) food to chew on and digest. I encourage you to listen to the talks (which are available on CrossWay's website) if you were unable to attend. Here are some helpful things that I took away and hope to implement in my marriage.

First Session: Mike Bullmore - The Goodness of a Godward Marriage (click here to listen)

• "Who you love determines how you live."
• Cheese balls: Does my marriage tip toward a love of self or a love of God? Remember: In the absence of a biblical vision, we will default toward a self-focused marriage.
• God's purpose in marriage: relational joy, growth in holiness, fruitful service.
• Mr. Lawyer-pants: Be committed to preferring one another... that is, don't favor your own way of doing things. We all come in with expectations. Ask: "What is it like for my spouse right now?" And have humble compassion. Don't elevate your own way.
• Revel in forgiveness—remember that it is a privilege to extend the grace and forgiveness you've been given.
• A Godward marriage depends on a continual orientation toward God and away from self. This re-orientation needs to happen pretty much daily.
• Mountain meadows: When you look ahead, this does not have to be an insurmountable cliff to climb, but a very walkable uphill path to a beautiful, lush place.

Breakout Session 1: Mark Rogers - Growing Through Conflict and Disagreement (click here to listen)

We didn't go to this one... because we never experience conflict. Haha. Just kidding. I'm excited to download it, listen to it, and talk about it with Eric.

Breakout Session 2: Dan Allen - Tending Your Spiritual Garden Together (click here to listen)

• Remember, if you want to reap a harvest, it will take labor and sweat.
• I am the primary human agent God is using to pour out grace on my spouse. And my spouse is the primary human agent God is using to pour out His grace on me. Remember this as you interact with one another—you are brother and sister in Christ. And remember God is working in you both.
• Growing asparagus: It can take a long time. And you may not see fruit right away. Be confident that growth is happening under the soil even if you can't see it, and keep watering.
• (A point my wise husband made) Sometimes we might plant and water, expecting a certain result. Let's not be discouraged if God brings about a different result. We may look at the asparagus patch we keep trying to grow... let's not miss the pumpkins growing over there.
• My spouse can not be God to me. Don't expect my spouse to fulfill/satisfy what only God can. That will frustrate me and put pressure on my spouse.
• No part of our lives is neutral—we're either fostering or hindering spiritual intimacy with our spouses in all we do.
• 9 minutes of prayer: God will use all of our efforts. Just because we fall short doesn't mean we'll come up empty. Example: If you're not praying at all, set a realistic goal to pray together for three minutes, 3 times a week (rather than, say, 3 hours every day). It may not be much to start... but 9 minutes is better than no minutes. 

Ending Session: Jason Dahlman - One Flesh Serving Together (click here to listen)

• Gold butterfly necklace: This is a gift God has given to you so that you can bless others, glorify Him, and experience the sweetness yourself.
• Don't wait to serve until your marriage is more mature/stable. Serving is something that will make your marriage more mature and stable.
• If your serving feels like it's dividing you, you're doing it wrong. Don't stop serving. Serve differently.
• Serving others = loving our neighbors as ourselves (Luke 10:25-28). Remember: you do this together when you are married, because the two have become one flesh, all of the Scriptural commands are not just "me" and "I", but "we" and "us."
• Sweet Dorito vomit: Even the un-fun things can be sweet when you are serving in unity.
• Your marriage and serving your church are not to be in competition with each other. If you can't actually serve together, be involved in what the other is doing. 
• Extend hospitality. Love your church and your community. And not just the people who are like you.
• Pray together about whether god is calling you to go and serve on the mission field together. Not all believers are called to go, but all are called to be willing to go. If you're not willing, ask God to make you willing.
• Let God's mission for His glory to be made known in the earth give you perspective... that little thing that bugged you today about your spouse may not be such a big deal in light of the eternally significant things happening around you.

What stands out to you from these talks? What do you take away from them?

Strawberry Picking & Pie Recipe

Yesterday, we went on a strawberry-picking double date, and then made pie. Yum!

Eric and me

Gerrit and Lauren intently picking

Not-so-intently picking

The most perfectest berry of the evening

Arranging the berries in the pie crust

Berries all ready for pie

Four perfect pies!

So pretty!

Fresh Strawberry Pie Recipe (from AllRecipes.com)

*** One personal note about this recipe: I've found it's best to make a double batch of the gelatin filling, especially if you make 9 or 10 inch pies! It doesn't quite fill up the pie as-is the way the recipe says to do it.

Ingredients

• 2 (8 inch) pie shells, baked
• 2 1/2 quarts fresh strawberries
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin
  

Directions

1. In a saucepan, mix together the sugar and corn starch; make sure to blend corn starch in completely. Add boiling water, and cook over medium heat until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Add gelatin mix, and stir until smooth. Let mixture cool to room temperature.
2. Place strawberries in baked pie shells; position berries with points facing up. Pour cooled gel mixture over strawberries.
3. Refrigerate until set. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Remembering that Brings Contentment

Today I did a drop-off for work at the end of the day. I like when I'm asked to do those for multiple reasons. One of those reasons is that I can sometimes stop at the mall, or make it to Hawthorn Hollow (one of my very favorite places) on the way back before it closes. Today was one of those wonderful stop-at-Hawthorn-Hollow days. And so I walked. And as I walked, I reached a spot where I once spent one of the sweetest times with my Savior that I've ever had. So I sat in the spot, and spent some time remembering.

It was mid-March of 2011, and there I was, on my blanket, in the spot where I stood today. The emotional winter had been as long and harsh as the environmental winter. And on that day, as I enjoyed my God's creation, I felt my spirit thaw, just as the ground beneath me was coming to life again, too. And so I wrote, "... this gift of watching—and feeling—the earth as it thaws. As life seeps up into its bones. Birds chirping, grass wisping, branches blowing. Oh, how grateful I am for seasons. Seasons in weather... seasons in life. God, thank You for this gift that reminds me of your love and care. It seems I'm quite forgetful, and so I apparently need these reminders often. So I'm grateful to You for giving them. Cultivate in me a heart that more often sees the gifts You give and more often gratefully acknowledges—and receives—answered prayer."

I spent hours sitting on my blanket in that spot on that spring day 14 months ago. As I sat, I read some chapters of The Path of Loneliness, which is a great book by Elisabeth Elliot (and it's helpful for everyone, not just people who are lonely... I think Elisabeth has a lot to teach us). I read Psalm 37, and then wrote down what the Psalm teaches us about God and the implications of those things for us.

I enjoyed my time today remembering that day and what God did in my heart then. Since that day, God has worked in so many ways—through relationships, a car accident, a mission trip...

As I look back at my journal from that day, I see how timely this remembering is. After my time at Hawthorn Hollow today, I read my journal from that day, and couldn't help but explode out of gratefulness for answered prayer. I'd written, "God, you know my desire for a husband. My request is simple: Lord of my life, I want You. I want Your best for me. I want whatever it is that You desire for me. Help me to trust You."

Wow! Talk about answered prayer! Here I am in this season of enjoying engagement and planning a wedding to the man I love. And I've been finding lately that it's so important to take time to remember. 

to stop.

and look.

and take in all that God is doing. 

That's my hope for this season (and for this blog). I desire to slow down and remember to remember. I want to see what God is doing and thank Him for it. I want to see the gifts and let gratefulness reign, instead of seeing the flaws and letting discontentment reign. I hope to be more like Mary, who "treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Luke 2:19).