Lent journey: SPEAK

I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

“When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.

“When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.

“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree.

“I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you”—God’s Decree—“bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it.

Jeremiah 29:11-14 (The Message)

Personal reflections:  Some days, I feel like I cannot wait one more day.  I need to know!  Will we ever be delivered from this difficult path.  Will Joy Bell Farm be a real place; a permanent place for us to put down roots and stay for a season (many seasons)?  I pondered this word as the sun rose and then, I looked down and saw this planter stake; a gift from a far-away friend, and I was reminded again that God is in our midst and He is guiding and directing our path.  It may not be what I want when I want it, but He faithfully reassures me that He is at work all around us and He's asking me to press into Him, His Word and to bless others while we dwell in this place (Enumclaw and on Kenny and Jessica's property).

When I truly seek God, His Word will speak to me and His promises are true and will be carried out for His glory and purposes and for our encouragement to keep to His path and be open to His provision.  We will be blessed to be a blessing to others and life will be more amazing than we could have ever imagined.....  

Looking again, I see His message and the beauty all around!

He is the Creator of new life!

.....and blesses us with JOY we cannot even imagine.

God is good.  All the time.

YOU ARE LOVED!

Lent journey: BELOVED

Benjamin:  "God's beloved; God's permanent residence.

Encircled by God all day long, within whom God is at home."

Deuteronomy 33:12 (The Message)

Personal reflection:  Our firstborn; our eldest son.  Maker of music. Filled with great passion for music and in sharing it with others.  While Benjamin has learned alot about technique over the years, it's his emotional playing that draws the listener in...  A beautiful experience.  God has given him a beautiful gift and we pray He opens doors for Benjamin to share his gift with countless people around the world. 

"the sound of the horn is the soul of the orchestra" ~ Robert Schumann 

Beloved (definition) 1.  dearly loved (adjective)  2. a much loved person (noun)

Benjamin is not my only beloved child, as God blessed us with Elizabeth and Nicholas too! Home educating our children, we did our best to focus on developing the gifts and talents God had given each one.  All three are passionate and beloved people!

Benjamin is also very passionate about SOCCER, especially Seattle Sounders soccer!  He played a little in his youth, became a youth soccer referee (a good one) and a well-versed fan!  He loves our Seattle Seahawks too, but his first love is soccer.  Beer and wine snob (said in a very loving way.....)

Elizabeth (my Miss Jane) ~ beautiful daughter, loves life and adventures, seamstress and knitter, loves working and playing with young children, devoted wife to her husband, Josh (and loves his family), favorite place is the zoo, WSU Shockers (elementary ed) and her Yuki!

Nicholas (my Little Buddy) ~ youngest son, gift of laughter, Ninja Christmas tree slayer, computer geek (or nerd - I never remember which is the correct term), seeker of knowledge, IT guy, Hard cider snob (also said in a very loving way), generous; very generous heart!

They all love really good food ~ and get that from their Dad.

We are blessed beyond measure with our beloved children; each a gift from God to us...  

Lent journey: FOLLOW

"......... I will follow You wherever You go."  Matthew 8:19b

Personal reflection:  Following Jesus is easy, but very difficult too.  For me, sometimes the road ahead is bright and light and I can see all around me.  At other times, it's very dark and there is only enough light in front of me to see where my footsteps will touch the ground.  These are steps of faith, as I can't see where the road ahead is leading me and my trust must be in God alone. At these times, do I still want to follow Him? 

Personally, I have asked God many times to just drop me a note, a map of the journey ahead, show me a neon sign....  I want to know where I am heading, even as I say, "I will follow You, Lord, wherever you go."  Walking by faith in this life; moving forward on the road of life - we want to know and we don't want to know, at the same time.  There has been much in my life that I am thankful I didn't know ahead of time; great difficulties that God has walked us through, places we've gone that I never imagined we would.  And still we continued to follow God.   He has remained faithful - always!  Even now, today, when I want to know where we are headed, how everything will unfold in our journey, will Joy Bell Farm be a real place where we can put down roots or will we wander throughout this life?  With all the unknowns - just following our Lord, as He leads.....  I will still choose to follow.

These two youtube videos are songs that have greatly impacted my faith journey in following God, at whatever cost.  Sometimes, I don't realize how singing a song of declaration will impact my life or what road it may lead my down....  It is an amazing and unknown journey!  There are times I want to take back the words I have sung out, but in the end, I'd make the same choice again.

Lent journey: POOR

"A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor."

Proverbs 22:9

Personal reflections:  Blaine and I love to share our garden bounty with others - neighbors, co-workers, friends and this scripture reminds me of our need to be more intentional in sharing with those who are not as fortunate.  And not only do I encourage you to share bounty from your garden, but also your time, your resources and your skills.  There are countless ways to bless those around us that are in need!

Truly thankful for the opportunity to have this brought to my attention during this Lent project that Blaine and I may consider how we can share, with a greater impact, on the community we live in.

We are truly blessed to live in a community that actively focuses on providing for those who are in need...  We've only been living in Enumclaw for a few months now, but we are excited to see these opportunities for us to get involved! (These are the only ones I know about.  There could be more.)

There are, indeed, many people in our community who are "poor;" who need a helping hand or food for their plates or........???, but this community is RICH in care and compassion for others!  

New Hope Food Bank Garden ~A community garden project to provide fresh produce, spiritual renewal, training in sustainable agriculture, and a beautiful addition to the neighborhood.  *This garden is located a Hope Lutheran Church.

Plateau Outreach Ministries ~Helping neighbors build bridges out of crisis. This non-profit organization has the support not only of the community (individuals and businesses), but also many churches in the area.  Their outreach is varied and blesses many in Enumclaw and the surrounding area.

Rainier Foothills Wellness Foundation  ~ Caring about people on the Plateau

Enumclaw Senior Center ~ We provide a comfortable and warm atmosphere for older adults of Enumclaw and the surrounding area. There is no membership fee.

Full Bellies ~ Free Thursday night dinner (3 times a month); big hearts - variety of people who prepare dinner for the community

Lent journey: NEAR

"But as for me, how good it is to be near God!

I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,

and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things You do."

Psalm 73:28 (NLT)

Personal reflections:  The past few days, I have really struggled to stay focused...  Monday was an extremely long day for me and its ending was stressful; somehow missing my exit off the freeway to return home after grocery shopping, it was nearly 9 o'clock and I hadn't eaten dinner, I had to drive into Tacoma  to exit onto another highway home (and then, there was a car accident blocking three lanes), it was dark and I couldn't find my way easily to the right road toward home and got on another wrong road; ending up driving into Puyallup, it was dark and I was in an unfamiliar area, blood sugar dropping......stress took over.  Don't even know how I got home really - well, yes I do.  Blaine encouraged me, I finally found my way and he prayed me home.  Utterly exhausted upon arrival, I could barely function.  Yesterday and today, I still feel off and tired and restless; irritated - and yet, I still want to keep moving forward with this Lent project... 

When I saw the word NEAR for Tuesday's Lent word, I knew what type of photograph I wanted to have for this post: sheep.  Brenda and Jim are so gracious at Small Blessings Farm, that I was able to drop by and see the new ram lamb triplets born that morning.  I needed a little "farm" time to try and refresh my spirit. How I wanted to linger, but even there I felt restless.  Yet, I still managed to spend a little time  with the sheep and took some lovely photos.  I was blessed by my quiet time with the sheep I had ~ (I love when I can be with the sheep and no one else is around - for they teach me so many lessons; life lessons and spiritual ones too). 

For the past couple of weeks, I have entered the sheep's world as the ewes wait in the maternity ward to deliver their lambs...  They have taught me that as prey animals, I cannot just approach them - but I must be still and allow them to explore me and slowly build trust with them.  I have to be aware of my intention when being amongst them - bringing gratitude, generosity and safety into their space.  It is a beautiful gift to watch the sheep trust you to draw near to them. After birthing their lambs, the ewes lick their new babies to clean them and smell their bottom - alot - and they begin communicating with each other very quickly and the sweet little baby will "beeeeeeehhhhhh" and mama's baaaaaaaaaa in reply. Quickly the conversation is going both ways.  Mother and baby must bond to each other, drawing near, smelling each other, listening to each other, so they don't get separated in the flock and mama can take care of her baby until her lamb(s) weans.  Mamas are very protective of their babies, redetermining whether people are to be trusted or not.  Lambs are exploring a new world and the smallest movements or noises send them scattering back near their mother. And, other ewes (not the lamb's mother) teaches lambs that don't belong to them to not try and nurse with them and gently push them away (and sometimes not so gently).  And, as time goes by - the lambs learn and can wander a bit farther from their mom and can mix together with other ewe and ram lambs and know how to act around other ewe moms (although correction does happen too).  But, as you can see in the picture above - Rose is chewing her cud while her ram lambs nap around her and many other lambs join in for nap time. Rose seems quite content that so many lambs have drawn near and feel safe with her; they all belong to the flock...  I believe God wants that for us too!

Iris and Ivy have taught me so much about "drawing near" and building trust.  They will both now chew on my iPhone when I stop by to visit.  Iris will let me scratch her neck and sides.  She evens seems to pose for photos.  Iris has taught me to be aware of my surroundings, my movements, sounds.  These lessons cross over into my spiritual life, as well, in drawing near to God - for the same components apply in spending time with Him!

I've learned that God is teaching us through countless sources if only we're aware of His presence and draw near to Him to learn.  And, if we do - it's super exciting how He meets us right where we are!  For me, He knows how much I love the farm and the sheep and He uses both to teach me many new, valuable lessons.

Iris and me!

Ivy and Iris

God is so good.  All the time!  

Blessings on your day.  You are loved.  

Lent journey: BLESS

Catching back up on my Lent practice after a couple of really busy days.....

"I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;

I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,

and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

Genesis 12:2-3

Personal reflections:  What on earth does a photograph of rhubarb have to do with the scripture you posted?  Thanks for asking!

This is a passage that is commonly heard in church sermons.  At least, I heard it fairly often, especially in my early, impressionable years of faith.  We are all sons and daughters of Abraham (Abram) and this was the promise God made to Abraham (Abram).  As God's child, I simply accepted and believed that this is what God would do in and through my life and who I was to be - BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS.

When we dismantled our urban farm, I blessed others with the plants that I had in my garden.  One of the special plants was my rhubarb.  I was given a few "starts" a number of years ago - first planting it at our Marysville house and then moving two of the plants to our Burien house.  I have no idea what variety it is, but it is vigorous and healthy and the rhubarb is delicious.  I've made and served strawberry rhubarb pie to many visitors, especially our missionary friends as it seemed a special favorite for them.

I cut my rhubarb plants into various sized pieces to share starts with others I knew.  I did keep one piece for myself, but was very depressed as our move time drew near and ended up composting it as I felt like I'd never have a 'farm garden' again.....   

But things have changed and God is blessing us in ways that continually amazes me.  Oh me of little faith....  I had visited with my friend, Lori, last summer before we moved to our current location in Enumclaw and saw just how large her rhubarb "start" had gotten since August of 2013.  Establishing itself quite well.  So, I asked if she would mind if I cut a start off of her plant to re-establish a plant of my own.  Yes!    

I drove up to Lynnwood on Monday and cut out the lower piece of her plant (photo below), which is in the photograph above.  I had blessed Lori and now she was blessing me in return; a ongoing blessing cycle.  Sometimes, when we "throw away or cut out" something from our lives it is over and never to be returned.  Other times, God restores back to us what we lost or gave up on.  God's grace and blessing was felt in my hands as I cut the piece of rhubarb away from the plant and placed it in the soil I had prepared for it.  I was also reminded of my friendship with Lori.  Though we don't see each other often and when she moved north, we moved south, we do connect once or twice a year and our conversation is always a blessing to us both.  

I am reminded once again that if we open our lives up to allow God to bless us (and keep our hands open and not hold those blessings tight for ourselves) and then bless others - God's blessings will continue to flow in and through our lives.  I have a new rhubarb plant to show for one of those blessings!  God is so good.  All the time.

Lori's rhubarb plant in her garden

Lori and I in her back garden...

We don't see each other often, but it's a delightful afternoon of chatting when we do!

God had many blessings for me on Monday....

The new Chaco Canyon Bakery and Deli is now open in Greenwood, so I was able to stop and enjoy a delicious lunch in our old Seattle neighborhood before driving north.

And, the Uprising Seeds racks are up and filled at PCC Fremont and I purchased quite a few packets for our new garden this season....  

Won't you make yourself available for God's blessing to come to you and to share it with others?  You are loved.

CELEBRATE: 2nd Sunday of Lent

"They will celebrate Your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness." 

Psalm 145:7

Personal reflections:  Wore my new 50th birthday Hippy Girl Garden shoes to do a bit of weeding preparation, for a new blueberry bed, with Blaine today.  Such a joy to work in God's Creation!  Sing aloud for all the world to hear!

I will celebrate, sing unto the Lord, sing to the Lord a new song......  

Happy Sunday one and all!  May the blessings of the Lord overflow in your lives today and in all the days ahead as you follow Him.  You are loved!