Changing Seasons

Although some may think otherwise, one of the blessings of living in North Dakota is the changing seasons.  With each new season comes the promise of the next to follow.  There is a unique kind of beauty in each season as it comes and goes, and the cycle of new life, growth, and dying off repeats itself year after year.  There is even a promise in God's Word which reminds us of the continuity of this cycle:

As long as the earth endures,

seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,

summer and winter, day and night

will never cease.

~Genesis 8:22

 

This past week the weather has been reminding us it won't be long until the season of cold and winter returns.  The days are getting shorter, the temperatures cooler, and the changing colors of the fall leaves are found more often on the ground than in the trees.  I came across this colorful display on a small tree sprout in an area we had cleared earlier this year. 

 

 

Most of yesterday afternoon was spent outdoors.  The flower pots, which had provided me with bursts of color throughout the summer months, were now in need of emptying.  Several nights of freezing temperatures had put an end to the life cycle of the flowers, and it was time to store the pots away until spring.

 

In the process, I did come across a few remaining bright spots.  Why they had escaped their demise, I'm not sure.  Maybe, because of their location, they were more protected from the cold.  Or perhaps they were extra hardy plants able to defend themselves for a bit longer.  At any rate, they made me smile!

 

As I went through the garden plot to clear what was left, I came across two more surprises.  A few sprigs of late lettuce were poking their way through the dirt, and in the midst of the corn stocks I found two little cobs to enjoy for supper.





 

Yes, the seasons are changing.  In a similar way, as God's children, we face our own seasons of life.  According to Acts 17:26, God establishes for each of us a time and exact place in which we will live.  Through the process of birth, He plants us somewhere, then encourages us to grow.  You may have heard the expression, "Bloom where you are planted."  If we read on into verse 27, we find God has a reasoning behind creating a special time and place for us. . .He wants us to seek Him, reach out for Him, and find Him.  And what a blessing to be reminded He is not far from each one of us.

 

In each North Dakota year we are promised 365 days.  None of us, however, know the number of days in our unique time span.  The seeking process God asks of us will lead us to an understanding He is with us through all of life's seasons.  And even when we face the dreaded winter season of death, He is waiting to welcome us to a new season. . .eternity!

 

 

Sneaky Sins

Housework has never been on my top ten list of favorite things to do.  It has always been one of those necessary obligations, usually neglected until some unknown force challenges me to take it on.  The German half of my gene pool keeps shouting, "Get it done!", while the Norwegian side is more laid back and whispers, "It will always wait!"

It's funny how my eyes and mind can be blind to the disorder (and dust!) for a long time, and then, all of a sudden, one day, I see it.  That's when the German in me gets busy.  It works best if I start some good, lively music playing, and often having a "to do" list with some goals helps.  But why can't I just have a regular routine, one which would consistently keep things clean and organized?  I've researched ideas, but it seems they never last.

This week, while I was having one of my "clean the shower while you're taking a shower" moments, [Check out the company Norwex and their "Bathroom Scrub Mitt" if you think this sounds strange!] I found myself hearing a bit of a spiritual lesson to go along with the cleaning. 

It had something to do with the way sins have a way of creeping into one's life, unnoticed until, one day, the reality of them hits you.  That's when you call on the Holy Spirit to do a complete cleaning in the deepest corners of your life, allowing God's grace and the love of Jesus to wash away the "dirt" accumulated. 

When defining the word, "sin," it is easy to think about what one would consider the BIG ones. . .murder, stealing, adultery.  But what about the sneaky ones?  Jerry Bridges wrote a book called, "Respectable Sins," with a subtitle of "Confronting the Sins We Tolerate."  Pulling from his list we find such things as unthankfulness, anxiety, frustration, discontentment, pride, selfishness, impatience, irritability, anger, judgmentalism, lack of self-control, envy, and jealousy.  Ouch!  That's quite the list, and not one of us is immune from the temptations it brings our way.

In God's eyes, sin is sin.  There are not degrees of it, nor does He tolerate one kind over the other.  In His eyes there is only one thing to do with sins. . .forgive them.  He looks for repentant hearts and already has made the sacrifice of His only Son to make atonement for them.  Our part is confession, and a willingness to make an effort to turn away and not repeat them.  Good thing for us, God is also a God of second chances. . .and third. . .and onward as high as you can count!

My project for the week?  Tackle some of the neglected housework, and while I'm at it, take a look at those sneaky sins and see if I can't do away with a few from the list.  It's an ongoing battle, for sure, but with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, who gently reminds me when I slip up, I can look forward to a cleaner inner house while working on the outer one!

Meanwhile, if you have any tips on a housekeeping schedule, please clue me in.  The German in me just might be willing to give it a try!

 

Making Way!

It has been a busy and exciting week for us, with preparation work being done leading up to an addition we are planning to add to our home.  After 39 years with very little change, this is going to be a big one!  Looking back, our house starting taking shape the year after we were married.  My husband and his dad, along with help from several brothers, did the majority of the work themselves.  They even got some help from my dad with the shingling on a day when it was twenty degrees below zero!

Our house is currently "L-shaped", with the living room extending toward the street to define the shape.  The plan is to add 16 feet to the bedroom end of the house, and add a second extension which will become a sunroom and office space.  In essence, the "L" will become a "U" and at the same time we will also enjoy additional room in our bedrooms.  We haven't planned it out entirely, but my vision is to include a walk-in closet, add a master bathroom, and create a separate laundry room.  Our laundry has always been in a closet in our bathroom, so it will be nice to give it a space of its own.

What does it take to create such an addition?  The first step was cutting down several trees, which was a hard thing for me to watch.  One thing about trees in North Dakota is knowing they were lovingly planted by someone back in the early days of pioneering the prairies, with nothing but miles and miles of grassland.  Knowing it will take the replacements some time to grow, it was sad to see the branches fall to the ground.

 

 

One tree in particular was hard for me to let go of, even though I knew it was in the way.  It was a pine tree which was originally planted when my kids brought it home from school.  Both the tree and our son have grown up over the years!

 



 

The next step was hiring a local excavator to dig out the space where footings will be formed to create a solid foundation for the new addition to be built on.  It was fun to watch them as they first dug out the tree stumps, and then created a three foot deep hole in the space which had been marked out as the boundary.

 

By afternoon I was able to get a visual of just how much area will be added once the project is completed.

 





 

Perhaps one of the most fascinating part of the whole process was observing how many roots there were protruding from all directions.  Even where there were no trees in the immediate area, there were roots which had made their way through the dirt and across the yard.  It made me think about how important roots are.  They are what brings the needed moisture into the tree to make it grow.

 

 

Each of us has our own set of roots, too.  Today I am thankful my roots are right here in North Dakota.  Both sets of my grandparents homesteaded in Divide County and established roots I haven't strayed far from.  Once a "farm girl," I found myself a nice "town boy," and together we have made our house a home to both a daughter and a son.  We are now blessed to have four grandchildren who come often to visit, and it is fun to be able to share with them the history of our family going back to the early days of settling the prairies. 

 

One of my treasured keepsakes is a picture taken of my maternal grandparent's farm prior to the construction of the big two story house we knew as "Grandma's House" growing up.  It's strange to see this farmstead without any trees, since it is currently surrounded by them!

 

 

So today I end my day thinking about my roots. . .both the family kind, and the ones being removed to make way for a new space to enjoy more times with those grandkids.  Perhaps you might one day be able to visit, too!

Seeds for Another Season

Over the past several years morning glory plants have been among those gracing my back yard.  At first, the seeds were purchased from a local store in convenient packets.  I've tried a variety of colors ranging from white and light pink to blue and a deep purple. 

As my love of flower gardening has increased, I've started dabbling into collecting seeds in the fall to save over winter for planting in the spring.  Such was the case last year with the morning glories.  With our house needing new siding, my husband asked if I could plant the morning glories in a different location.  If planted in their usual spot by the back door, they would be in the way if the siding project got underway.  I found a new spot across the yard, broke up the soil, and added some potting mix to give them a good start.  The saved seeds were planted, and they ended up providing lots of beauty over the summer months.

 

With the forecast indicating a possibility of frost, I decided it was time to once again look for the seeds to save.  Morning glories are actually quite fascinating to observe.  As the flower buds start to appear, the petals are wrapped in a sideways fashion, and open when the sun hits them in the morning.  As noon approaches, however, the petals curl back up, but in a different direction, this time from the top of the petals inward like this:

 

 

As the petals subsequently dry up, a pod develops and begins the process of creating seeds.  They grow in clusters with a white membrane surrounding them.  As the seeds mature, the white turns to brown, and eventually the brown pops open, allowing the seed to drop to the earth.  For my purposes, it is best to find the brown pods.  This tells me the seeds are developed, and are ready to be harvested.  Here are pictures of the developing pods, a brown one ready to open, and what it looks like after the plant has given up the seed on its own:

 

 

 

Gathering as many seeds as I could, I then brought them indoors and went to work removing the seeds from the pods.  Here are some close up shots of the pod before and after I squeezed them to remove the seeds:

 

There is now an ample supply of seeds to be tucked away through the winter, ready to provide another round of beauty next summer:

 

As I worked with the seeds, I found myself thinking about the seeds of God's love we are sowing into the lives of children every Wednesday night at our church.  A Bible story, verses to memorize, songs, hugs, and kind words combine as seeds, which may or may not immediately sprout.  The important thing is the seeds are tucked in place, ready to grow when God's appointed time arrives.

 

The empty pods seemed to be a representation of how we often feel after a session is over.  We are tired, emotionally drained, and possibly wondering if our efforts have been worth it.  As I throw the empty pods away, they are a reminder our work may be done, but the hope in the seed remains.

 

 

One final lesson awaits me just outside my back door.  Although this year no seeds were planted by me, the recent fall rains have caused many small morning glory plants to sprout.  Apparently some of last year's seeds fell to the ground, yet remained dormant until the ideal conditions produced the new life.  What does this tell me?  It reminds me we never know when or where those godly seeds we plant might develop.  A child may move, time may pass, but the seed is there.  We trust God will, in His time, bring forth the beauty, and another harvest of seeds!

 

 

It's not important who does the planting,

or who does the watering.

What's important is that God makes the seed grow.

1 Corinthians 3:7 (NLT)