a sprouting hope!

i was taking a wander around the front veggie patch yesterday .... wondering how long until the fruits of our labour would start to show.  see ... i love this time of year .... with the anticipation of what might be coming up. 

... and there it was .... i wasn't even looking and the first green tendrils of my winter patch are starting to come through the good earth.  only one problem .... WHAT are you?

what are you?

is this a left over from my summer garden?  hmmm ...  it looks like a bean .... but that's the wrong spot for you ... i planted those at the other end of the bed.  and then i raise my eyes slightly and glance down the far end of the bed and see ... more green!  just little hints .... but you .... i know you!  you are my mamoth snow peas!  I can't wait to see how you turn out!  <g>

so fall has arrived and winter is coming quicker than we know.  the beds are settling in for a good production i think.  these are from my front bed ... where i also have greenfeast peas, comfrey, parsnips, garlic and my ever favorite broad beans.  i love the anticipation .... i know what i planted (well, most of the time at least!).... and the joys of seeing it come up are just so encouraging to my green thumb nature. 

for me, so much of what i do in the garden mimics how i engage with my life.  the success of  my labors and the failures as well.  the surprises and those stalwart things that are relied upon.  i have my broad beans down to a fine art now ... they are a reliable source of food for our family each spring. depend on that.  in the same way that i rely on my family and friends for support.  of knowing that friend who i almost religiously have a text skype with each morning over a cup of coffee .... just to get the day going.  and of course the immutible and never changing presence of my Father God and being able to dump it all at his feet, knowing that He can handle it. 

and what about those unexpected things?  i wonder how many of those precious little treasures i miss because i'm not looking or engaging with those around me enough.  there was a real grin on my face when i saw what was in the garden .... wondering what it was ....an unexpected pleasure and gift in the middle of it all!  whoohooy ! so it should be with my friends and those i am in relationship with each day.  to take the time to see the little things that make a day more than it would have been ... and to appreciate each little bend in the road as a surprise and joy to be embraced.

Contemplation.

i have just turned 50.  woohoo.  <g>  instead of a big party i did something for myself .... i indulged in what has until now been a fairly closet passion: a greenie love of the environment. i went to a permaculture course, had a blast -- and had my eyes opened!

surely my christian friends would laugh at me.  surely compared to the need to show God's love and grace to others this is miniscule in comparision.  so i rarely talk about it .... rarely discuss what sits heavy on my heart: God gave us this world to use, love and be wise stewards of .... and, quite frankly, we've screwed it up.  this time away taught me that i should no longer be quiet about it.

we have a mandate now more than ever to care for the Creation that God has entrusted to us.  i want my kids to enjoy fresh, non GM food and to live an abundant life .... and to know our Saviors love through that.   so for me, being a wise steward (trying ... not perfect, but trying!), and teaching my kids how to cherish God's world will only make them fall in love with the Creator more ... and want to share His amazing Love with others.

i learned a term this weekend ... Evangelical Environmentalism.  it is the new term for those believers who take seriously our stewardship of this world.  now this course was certainly not about faith or about religion!  but i saw the core principles of permaculture and said .... man!  those are straight from the bible!  they are using God's mandate to love others, care for others, live in community and be wise stewards .... all which can be scripturally supported. 

 i am forced to reflect on so much.  i have wanted to live today better than yesterday and hope for tomorrow more than i have today.  i think of two things from the weekend that have been profound for me.
-- life happens!  it is the way that God designed it.  i see this in the area that our chickens are scratching away at ... the left overs i feed them and the borlotti beans and cherry tomato's that can't help but spring up!
-- we have all been made in the image of our Grand Designer.  He has given us the ability to design and reclaim this world in the way He intended it to be.


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reflection  ..... 5 July 2011

so ... i've been doing this blog for over 3 months now .... is my heart still passionate about our role in God's redemption of Creation?  of what he has called us too?  for me, and more importantly, for our family .... that answer is a resounding YES.

each day we are learning a little bit more about the small and big things we can do to honour our Lord by understanding how He created this planet, the systems that are the best for growing things and providing for our family.  what does that mean?  well, truthfully .... it means heaps of fun!  we are learning about cool things in our garden .... mushrooms, aquaponics ... how to grow stuff with less effort and more reward -- and regenerating and making good soil to boot!  understanding that we don't have to have things brand spankin' new .... but that recycling and reusing is actually MUCH MORE REWARDING!  and ... learning about our friends and neighbors .... living in community more.

so yes ... we are continuing to move towards a creation care mentality .... and with each step we take, we are more committed to it and this call that God has placed on our hearts.  will you join us?

This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears

All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.

This is my Father’s world: I rest me in the thought

Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;

His hand the wonders wrought.