Resolution #3

Think about gardening before gardeners are already harvesting their tomatoes. Actually, I would like to do some planning--real, authentic might-make-me-break-out-in-hives-because-I-hate-real-planning planning--in the next couple of weeks. But I've been avoiding it because, well, I suspect I might break out in hives. And I haven't quite decided whether I would rather have hives or a lovely, thriving garden.

(Resolution 3.5: Solve the mystery of how to successfully use strikethrough text in this blogger dashboard. Even copying and pasting won't work! If anyone out there can help me out on that point, I would be forever indebted to you. Well, maybe not forever.)

This will be my third year for a vegetable garden, and I can hardly believe it! Well, it might only be my second on the technicality that last year's was almost a total bust. Which is one very valid reason for Resolution #3. It's a good thing our garden turned out pretty well the first year, otherwise I'm not sure we would have planted anything the second year.

Justin and I have also been talking about making a bed in the middle of the front yard and even made an attempt at starting last fall. This is the project that would need the most planning because I simply have no idea where to even begin to choose and map out what to plant. Trees? Bushes? Flowers? Greenery? Stuff that looks pretty in Spring, Summer, and/or Fall? Please send help.

No really. Please send help. I've been trying to track down some good landscaping/gardening blogs, but so far they are proving hard to find. I'm wondering if this is because there are only so many gardening tips a person can post before running out of material. But I would love to see a gardening blog that follows the same pattern as a decorating/design blog...one that is always linking to other bloggers and ideas and always has something seasonal to show. Surely something like this exists? Anyone know of any such blog?

In the meantime, these are a few of the gardening blogs I have found that look like they have some promise in the way of basic information, which I am still hoping to explore further:

http://todaysgardenideas.com
http://inmykitchengarden.blogspot.com
http://gardening.savvy-cafe.com
http://www.cbgarden.org/blog

I would love more ideas, though!

Resolution #2

Eat more maple cream.

Okay. Not really. But seriously...it's some of the best stuff I've ever tasted. Basically, it is pure maple syrup boiled down to a cream, and it tastes like maple icing. It's good on bread like bagels or pancakes, but to be perfectly honest, I end up eating most of it straight out of the jar. Justin and I stumbled on it when we took our New England trip this summer. I didn't know what it was and was reluctant to buy some, but Justin talked me into it. Then I'm not sure if he ever even got to eat any before I polished off the 1/2 lb jar.

Tomorrow is my dad's birthday. I gave him some NH maple syrup for Christmas (which he puts on ice cream), but he started drooling when I mentioned the maple cream. So I tracked some down online and ordered him some for his birthday. Oh yes. And one for me. :)

Real resolution #2: Have enough self-restraint to save some for Justin.

Resolution #1

I did it! I made and started acting on my first "resolution." It's only been a few years in the making. Pretty quick progress, wouldn't you say?

Yesterday I shared a little about how I'm realizing that my lack of intentionality has contributed to some serious drifting in my life, particularly in my most important relationship--my relationship with my Heavenly Father. The only one truly worthy of my love and praise and adoration and time, and the one I have pushed aside for the sake of my own comfort and convenience. The one who gives me every good and perfect gift including the gifts of time and talents, to whom I too often respond by saying, "Thanks but no thanks. I'd rather just squander the time you've so graciously given me instead. I'd rather be comfortable than doing anything of (eternal) consequence."

That's a confession and one that wounds my selfish pride to make. Good. May I wound my pride until it finally lays down too broken to fight. So broken that it finally surrenders to the Holy Spirit's work in my undeserving life.

I realize not everyone who reads this blog (although, if the comments are any indication, BA's the only one right now--thanks for reading and playing along BA!) is interested in this kind of post, but the truth of the matter is, the best thing I can possibly do is not to point to myself but to the one whom I owe (and from whom I have received) absolutely everything.

So. That's the background. My resolution #1 is daily, substantial prayer. I really don't want to confess how woefully inadequate this area of my life has been recently, especially during the times I am on my own. And yet I am acutely aware that any changes I hope to see come about can only begin with prayer. Because my own power is insufficient--and worse than insufficient, it is/I am sinful and self-centered. "...for apart from me [Jesus] you can do nothing" (John 15:5). And, as I was reminded this morning, while prayer can and often does change our circumstances, it changes us, primarily, as we stop focusing on ourselves and spend some much needed time in conversation with our Abba, Father.

Last night I spent some time writing down what I want to be sure to bring up every time I pray, both for myself and for my marriage. I adopted these from a marriage study by Doug Britton we have been going over in Sunday school. These are things I should not have to be reminded to pray for, and yet, I do need the reminder. Prayer needs to become habit first. If you have been struggling to make prayer a second-nature habit, I encourage you to adopt these in your prayers as well. Gracious, this post is getting long. Thanks for sticking with me.

• Confess that I am a sinner and pray for forgiveness (1 Jn 1:9)
• Thank God for who he is, for his love and salvation and ask him to help me love him more
• Ask him to help me walk in his Spirit (be receptive) and to serve him that day
• Pray for spiritual growth (spiritual gifts, ministry opportunities, discipline in prayer and study, insight into the Word, joy in the Spirit)
• Pray for Justin, for what he is doing that day (job success, wisdom in relationships, guidance) and for safety and health (safety while flying, energy, rest, and good health)
• Thank God for Justin (including generalities and specifics)
• Pray for Justin's spiritual growth (see above, and I added praying Eph 3:14-19 for him specifically)
• Pray for Justin's weaknesses and for God to show himself strong through them; also for patience with and concern for them (as opposed to frustration)
• Pray to love Justin more and that God would strengthen our marriage (guidance for Justin to lead our family, to grow in our strengths as a couple, to surrender our weaknesses, that our marriage would be an example to others)
• Pray for future children, specifically for us not to squander this season of waiting and that God would use this time to prepare us to be effective parents

It's a start.

That's what I'm talkin' about

This quote from yesterday's devotion by D.A. Carson pretty much sums up why I've been feeling the need to make some resolutions. There's too much drifting going on in my life these days.

"People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated."

Man, but I have been all about some "relaxation" the past few years. Time to regain some self-control.

Is there anything you make a point of doing every day or week to keep you grounded rather than drifting?

Motivation for the new year...or at least the last 11 months of the new year

I started thinking it was a little strange that on this blog that is supposed to have at least a little something to do with indecision/inspiration, I have never once mentioned New Year's resolutions. Well, there is a reason for that: I rarely make New Year's resolutions. I don't much see the point of making resolutions just because the dates on the calendar have changed. Perhaps that's why, in general, too few New Year's resolutions stick. The motivation behind them needs to have a bit more substance.

In my case, it would be easy to say that I'm too indecisive to make resolutions. But that's just the lazy answer. More often than not, my "indecision" is simply a lack of intentionality. I don't make setting goals for myself a priority, so I make excuses instead. Can anyone relate?

Well, I've started taking stock of my attempts at using my time and abilities in a more productive, God-honoring way over the last couple of years. Taking stock is going to be a process, but I want to sit down and make some clear goals for myself. I suppose you could call them New Year's resolutions.

In the meantime, I'd like to encourage you. Did you make any New Year's resolutions for 2011? Have you fallen off the wagon already? If so, don't be afraid to pick yourself back up and try again! And don't forget to write down your goals and share them with someone who will keep you accountable. You're 250% more likely to follow through on them if you write them down. Okay, I made that number up. But you do have a substantially higher chance. I'll be sharing my goals with you as soon as I come up with them!

Bet you can hardly wait. Your anticipation is palpable.

There's a storm in the forecast after all

(You have to read the previous post for this title to make sense.)

Bring on the brainstorming. But you first, if you don't mind.

I'm enjoying blogging these days and feel like I have recaptured some of my original intent for this blog. While I am acutely aware that this wave might crest any day (or, more than likely, in a little under a month when I will get to see someone I have a little bit of a crush on--bet you can't guess who ;), I want to ride this out and see where the current takes me. I may just end up washed up, but we'll see. In the meantime, could you help me out? I would just like to know if there is anything at all that keeps you checking this blog (however (in)frequently) other than updates on me. Because I like posting random things as well as things that are somewhat about me but might have an impact in your lives as well (however (in)significant--whether it's Lily sitting on my kitchen window sill to share a smile, or a recipe/craft, or something more meaningful like an issue I am learning about or wrestling with). And, frankly, even I will lose interest if this blog is all about me.

So, basically, I would just like to know (1) Do you feel like this blog is all about me? (be honest!) and (2) If not, what kinds of things do you most enjoy reading/seeing here?

Thanks so much for your time and insight!

Whoa, I was almost a blogger last week

There's something more substantial I would like to post, but it involves my sitting down and thinking through some things. Which is proving too challenging a task for me. I've had this problem for years now. Thankfully, Pearls Before Swine has finally showed me the source of my problem. (You might have to change your screen to 125% to read it. Sorry 'bout that.)


Love it!

I am sold

Where can I get one of these? It even gets good gas mileage!

I found this whole video fascinating, not least because of Steve Saint. He reminds me of someone I can't quite place, and he strikes me as a very humble guy.

It's time to break the cycle

There's a stubborn epidemic persisting in the world today. One that would have been quashed decades ago if only people had had the good sense to listen to the "experts" and adapt instead of passing on outdated habits to younger, malleable generations.

Yes, my friends, I am talking about that haunting phenomenon creating "rivers" of white space on Web pages, memos, and e-mails all over the world--adding two spaces after a period. A habit born with the now mostly defunct monospaced type. Don't be a victim, my friends. I've been fighting this battle for years. So you can imagine how encouraged I was to see my convictions voiced in glorious, single-spaced print.

Learn, adapt, and for the love of future generations, please don't be responsible for passing on this epidemic to our innocent children.

Lovely

My lovely husband sent me lovely flowers today, so I wanted to show him a little love. I woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning (actually, Eddie woke me up on the wrong side of bed--three times), so Justin helped save the day!

And, it has only recently come to my attention that one should tip for flower delivery. I was still skeptical of this because flowers are so crazy expensive in the first place. So I didn't tip. And then I looked up whether this is customary. I guess the delivery people are usually independently contracted and often pay their own gas and other expenses. I was woefully ignorant. Forgive me, delivery woman, for not sharing the love. Am I the only one who was oblivious to this knowledge?

This behavior is not encouraged

But I couldn't resist the photo op.

Quote of the day (of this 2-month period, really)

"It's amazing how you just cease to function when I'm gone."
--Justin (too true)