27 Years

To My parents - who on this day have been married for 27 years. Thank you for your example to me and my husband, to my siblings, to our families, and to the world. Thank you for choosing to love each other faithfully for 27 years with no thought of turning back. Thank you for not being perfect, but showing us that two sinful people can, through God's grace, make a marriage a good place to be. Thank you for giving us something to work towards - giving us something to strive forward with the knowledge that it is possible to love your spouse on a day-to-day basis. Thank you for showing us that it's okay to say "i'm sorry", and that the commitment you made to each other 27 years ago has not lost any meaning over the past 27 years. Thank you for letting God lead you to the place you are today. We celebrate with you!

Avatar

How many of you have seen this movie?

I have. Now normally, I am not a huge movie critic. I tend to see movies as they are - entertainment, good or bad.

This movie is interesting to me however. I can see both sides of the argument that I hear people making about this movie.

Let me explain. My Father's birthday was recently, and he wanted to take the whole family out to see Avatar. Several members of my family were very excited about the movie, in particular the "3-D" portions. (By the way, 3-D is nothing like it used to be...) I, having heard nothing about the movie, went into it not knowing what to expect. An interesting perspective. After the movie, all 8 of us were standing in the hallway talking about what we had just seen. Here are some of the comments:

"Amazing computer technology"
"My spirit felt uncomfortable with the 'nature themes'"
"Interesting how a lot of movies now portray mankind as the evil race"
"It bothers me when God's name is taken in vain so freely"
"Good story line"

Quite a variety, isn't there? I also saw this article recently. This author has another perspective of the movie.

This post wasn't designed to promote or downplay the movie. I do however think it's important, if you chose to see it, that you allow your spirit to evaluate the movie (the above spirit comment came from my Mother, someone I very much trust in her discernment).

So - what do you think? Is it entertainment? Or is it more?

(My personal take - I thought the graphics were incredible. Like I said, 3-D is nothing like I remember it being the last time I saw a 3-D movie. I enjoyed the "story" within the movie, but I also felt uncomfortable with some of the language, the violence (even though computer animated), and the current that ran throughout the movie encouraging oneness with nature. A very well done movie, but not one that I would like to watch again.)

Yes...I'm finally back!

I know...I know...I've kept you all in suspense far too long! Check me out here to find out what has kept me so occupied for the last 7 months!

Garage Sale Day!

Going "garage saling" today...wonder what I will find!?!?!!?

More info on the BIG NEWS coming soon!

Blessings!

Suprise...

Big news coming soon...any guesses?

Apples and Lemons

This past week I made two of my favorite recipes!

Strawberry Delight has been passed down by my grandmother and it's now a family tradition.

This is the finished product - something like a jello with a smoothie consistency? Delicious as a side, snack, or dessert!

I also made Lemon Bars for our small group. There's something cool about making food from scratch, even when you can buy it in a box at the store!

Step 1: Make the crust.


Step 2: Make the filling.


Step 3: Bake and enjoy!

Garden Update #1

These pictures are actually from about a week ago, and this is several weeks into my "gardening experience", but it is a good starting point! It's all a learning experience...

I bought these tomato plants at about 8 inches tall - they've certainly grown! No red tomatoes yet, but plenty of green ones! I have been watering daily, and using Mira*le Grow and an organic "bug spray" weekly. The two outside plants are big tomatoes and the middle one is cherry tomatoes.

I also have 2 basil plants, but I haven't used any yet! Any suggestions, besides pesto?








My peas look great in this post, but they're not doing so hot now. They don't seem to want to climb up the wire! or a pole for that matter!












We also have STRAWBERRIES! After we fenced them in, they've done just fine! Next year we may plant more - it's kind of hard to use them in recipes when only 1 ripens at a time.

And of course we can't forget my squash and pumpkins that are going to way outgrow my garden! I started these from seeds though, so it's been neat to watch.






And last but not least, my bean plants and chives! Chives aren't doing so great, bean plants have potential!






So - how does your garden grow?