My favorite English guy...

Yes, I'm speaking of C.S. Lewis. Actually, he's Irish, but we won't quibble.
I was looking over a list of his quotes and this one struck a chord:
"Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see."
Isn't it amazing how some folks are so determined not to be under God's Lordship that they can actually claim He doesn't exist while they live right here in the middle of a huge miracle? It would be funny if it wasn't so tragic.
"Oh, I'm still trying to decide if I believe in God," an agnostic/atheist will say, trying to look very philosophical. *snort* Wake up and look around! The mathematical impossibility of even one molecule just suddenly appearing on its own has been proven already. Can you imagine what kind of mathematical gymnastics would be required to explain all the molecules that make up this earth and all the other planets just appearing out of...not even thin air...nothing!
Wow...you really have to want to not believe in God. Rebellion by any other name...still smells.

Micah and Adam graduate...

Well, they made it! Micah (my daughter) and her new husband, Adam, graduated from high school last night. Their next plans include moving to Fergus Falls (MN) and attending the community college there. Summer classes coming up.

Congratulations!

A nature walk...

Yesterday I decided to walk around the perimeter of our property in search of wild mint. We've had a pretty good crop over the years and I'm familiar with where it grows, but I didn't find much this time around. Could it be a scarcity of bees? I've seen nary a bee all spring.

I did manage to pick a small bunch of mint and tried to leave some to reproduce. Here is my little "teapot" brewing some mint tea!



Here are some little raspberry canes which will bring forth tiny raspberries in the fall...which I hope won't be here for a LONG time!



I also encountered a tiny little iris-like flower. It's only an inch tall. Iris or violet? Hmmm...better get out the guidebook.



And here is a cluster of wild plum bushes after which our farm (Plum Hill Ranch) is named.




Next year's Christmas tree?



I just can't take enough pictures of the sunshine on all of the greenery. It was a long winter and I hope it'll be a long summer! =0)

Our place in the woods...

You know, our place in the woods probably wouldn't impress a lot of people, but it's been a good home over the last 21 years. We still feel like outsiders in a place where many families have lived for generations. (Our daughter just married into one of those ancient Finnish families. NOW, maybe we'll fit in? Nah!)

Anyway, I'm blessed every time I look out the window and realize that we get to live in this beautiful place all year long. Not just for a few weeks during the summer. We live in a tourist area where thousands convene every summer to enjoy the woods and lakes. The locals complain about "the tourists" and how crowded everything is in the summer, but the tourists keep our economy humming. So we smile and try to make them feel at home. I feel sad for them as they head back to the city after a brief visit to our "neck of the woods".

Yes, part of the price we pay is living "below the poverty line". But that just makes life a little more interesting and encourages us to be a little more creative. With an empty nest we no longer have to worry about the kids, so we can enjoy the challenges of cutting firewood, growing a garden and other things we do to save money and keep the house cozy all winter. It's all in how you look at things.

We can all learn to be content where we are.

Here are a couple of photos of our front porch and my wild roses which grow by the steps and my favorite birch clump in the front yard.

Ah, glorious spring has arrived!

It's a wonderful spring afternoon. I've just gotten home from work and it's in the 60's, which is nice for Minnesota this time of year. I look out the window on sunshine and green trees, horses grazing in the pasture, and a lawn that is only partially mowed. That's where I'm heading right now. Out to get some sun on these shoulders that have been indoors all winter. And after mowing I'm going to cultivate my vegetable garden for a while. I'll probably overdo it, but that's part of the fun.

Time to turn off the internet and get down to real-life. See you back here later!

Have a happy summer. Now GO OUTSIDE! =0)

Israel is 61 Years Old...

Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things?
Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment?
Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children.
(Isaiah 66:8)



SHALOM, ISRAEL!

Filling the Empty Nest...

The last of the fledglings have flown the nest. It's a little emptier of possessions and a lot emptier as far as being able to interact daily with our children. In just about a two month period we went from having all three of our kids, age 17-26, at home, to having none. I know we all experience the empty nest eventually, but this was a little different, I think, than many people experience it.

Anyway, the shock has sort of worn off now and my husband and I are in the process of beginning a new phase of our life...kind of like the kids are doing! We're looking around at all of the projects that need doing and planning where to begin. It will be sort of fun being just a couple. We've never had that experience before since my husband already had four children when we got married. The three that just left home were our second batch, making seven all together.

I've taken over the loft bedroom as my little personal space. Being an introvert I think it's pretty necessary to have a place to get away from everything and just think my own thoughts. It's the only way I can recharge my emotional batteries. My husband, being the opposite personality type gets recharged by socializing, so he has some difficulty understanding what makes me tick. I guess it's always been that way between introverts and extroverts. Surprise! =0) The loft overlooks the living room and is pretty open, so we really aren't separated by much space--it just seems private because I'm on the second level. So, it works for me.

I've filled my little loft nest with things I love to do. I have a place set up to practice my tinwhistle and violin. I also have a large bed on which to spread out my photo album pictures which are in real disarray. I love that I can leave them scattered all over the bed as long as I need to, which will make it easier to actually get around to working on them. I also dug out all of the bags and boxes of needlework and other craft projects I've been putting on the back burner all of these years and have displayed them in totes on shelves so I can find them easily and begin working on them a little at a time as I feel like it. It will also make a great exercise place and most importantly a place to read the Word and my devotionals and have some quiet time.

So, I think I'll repair to my loft right now, practice my instruments while my husband isn't here (I don't play very well) and just enjoy the peace and quiet. And while I'm there I'll say a little prayer for my children who are just beginning a grand adventure. Lord keep them in the palm of Your hand. Amen.

"The Shack", "Little Heathens" and "'Til We Have Faces"...

I just finished "The Shack" and though I loved it, I have mixed feelings. I believed it to be a non-fiction account of a real experience the whole time I was reading it only to realize it was purely fiction after finishing it.

I realize it says "A Novel" right under the title on the title page, but who really looks at the title page? LOL! So, basically, this is a theologians' guess at what God is like and what He thinks about various things. What really bothers me is that I don't think he tried very hard to be sure we new it was fiction at the beginning. It just kind of bothered me.

It just goes to show that we shouldn't go too crazy over anything but God's Word. It's easy for us, as humans, to want to have someone hand us God in a box, when in reality, there's no shortcut to seeking God and having a relationship of our very own.

I didn't actually finish "Little Heathens". It was okay at first, but I was kind of turned off by the chapter devoted to learning how to cuss and found her attitude toward God a little too depressing. Some of the down-home stuff was interesting, but I sensed a cynicism in her that I didn't find attractive. Anyway, that's just one person's opinion!

Now I'm going to try "'Til We Have Faces" by C.S. Lewis

Au revoir for now!