Inspiration
Those who do what is right will grow like a palm tree.
They will grow strong like a cedar tree in Lebanon
Their roots will be firm in the house of the Lord.
They will grow strong and healthy in the courtyards of our God.
When they get old, they will still bear fruit.
Like young trees they will stay fresh and strong.
They will say to everyone, "The Lord is honest.
He is my Rock. There is no evil in Him."
Psalm 92:12-15
Reading and Learning
We were watching one of the gardeners at work trimming the branches of a fruit tree.
"Do you see what he's using?" asked the teacher. "In the Hebrew Scriptures it's called the mazmerah, the pruning hook."
. . .
"A tree," he said, "has a limited amount of resources and energy to give to its branches. If a branch become unfruitful,it will hinder the tree's resources. So the purpose of pruning is to remove the unfruitful branch, that which is hindering the tree from it fruitfulness. Pruning allows the tree to redirect its resources to the healthy and fruitful branches and thus to become even more fruitful."
. . .
"for a tree being pruned, the process of pruning takes on the appearance of loss. So in this life, every child of God will experience what appears to be loss. Some things will pass from your life; others will be taken They will appear to you as losses. But they will not be. The purpose of pruning is not to harm the tree, but just the opposite. It is to allow the tree to bear the fruit it was meant to bear. So too in your life with God. When you experience losses, they will not be for your harm. Every loss will be redeemed. Each will be used to cause you to become what you were to become. So you're not to dwell on what was and is no more, but on that which is yet to come, the purpose of God . . the fruit that is yet to be brought forth. And don't fear the mazmerah, God's pruning hook. For it only has one purpose . . . that you might bear the fruit for which your life from the beginning was created to bring forth."
Day 181
We worked in our workbooks as usual. Aaron's workbook is actually a simple coloring book as he is younger than the other three. He just started it today and was excited to color with markers like a big kid.
I bought new (to us) books over the weekend so reading time was exciting.
Kylin chose Dominoes again for our afternoon game. This seems to be his favorite game at the moment. We played three rounds and he won two.
Outdoor Fun
There was lot's of car sitting this morning. They didn't actually ride the cars anywhere, just took turns sitting in them and chatting (and occasionally arguing over who was going to sit in which one.)
The green beans and peas are starting to bloom. I know it's really late in the season for peas but my garden area took so long to dry out this Spring that I got a late start. I decided to go ahead and plant two rows and see what happens.
We have one bush out back that is just loaded with oh-so-pretty but oh-so-destructive beetles. Thankfully they seem to be staying mostly on that one bush. But to decrease the chances of them attacking my garden I've been gathering as many as I can several times a day a feeding them to the chickens. The chickens love me for it!
In the Kitchen
This morning Kylin helped me make Tater Tot casserole for our lunch. Then we put it in the oven to bake while we went outside to play. There was enough left over that I had for dinner this evening too.
I'm canning meat again. Today I canned three quarts of ground turkey with broth, 1 1/2 quarts shredded turkey with broth, and two quarts of just plain broth.
Weekend Fun
We were so busy this weekend that I didn't get time to post about it. So I'm adding it to today's post.
Amanda ordered a trampoline and it's been sitting on our front porch for awhile. She finally had a Saturday off so we decided to tackle putting it together. We worked on it for awhile but didn't get it finished. I think I'm going to have to watch some YouTube videos on how to put it together because we got stuck. The instructions are awful. And it was hot! So we decided to try to finish the rest of it on her next day off.
Walking the dogs - Michael met some friends while we were out and they rode together for awhile.
We are really, really enjoying have our church services outside. It is hot sometimes but so worth it. This Sunday it was cloudy with a slight breeze most of the time so it wasn't too bad. This Sunday we were also able to start our adult Sunday School classes back up as well. I can't even express how much this time together means to me. There is a reason we are reminded in the Bible not to forsake assembling together. We need that time together! I even got to go to Life Group Sunday evening which, for one reason or another, I've missed over the last couple months. So it was a truly awesome Sunday.
In between all that Michael and I went out for ice cream Sunday afternoon. This is his weekly reward for getting the yard mowed. He truly is my right hand man and I don't know what I would do without him. Not just because of the work he helps me with, although he does help a lot.
Along with all these things this weekend, we also were able to get some much needed shopping done. It was nice to just spend the day with Amanda and Michael (I missed Austin though,) talking, laughing, shopping, and having fun.
And, we got the trash hauled to the dump. When I lost my keys I missed a couple of my normal dump runs so this was desperately needed!
It was a wonderful weekend!
Quote of the Day
Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.
~ Warren Buffet
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