TGIF

Cutting the coco-mat to fit a heart-shaped wire basket that I have had for over ten years...



filling the hanging baskets with beautiful potting soil...



tease the roots of your flowers before planting them...



Plant your new annuals in an "X" or cross shape, three across, three down. They look sparse now, but this will fill in and spill over beautifully in a matter of a few weeks. This year, I chose red wave petunia and red verbena, both have a draping, hanging habit.



One of the finished baskets, in its usual spring and summer home.

some of the ingredients to home made chicken lo mein...

pasta on the left, boneless chicken in the wok, with coarse salt, soy, and believe it or not, a couple of teaspoons of brown gravy mix, and of course a bit of minced ginger...

a typical evening here...

Enjoy your weekend, friends. Mine is already shaping up to be most lovely. Absolutely got to get the pole bean seeds planted this weekend, and also need to get the usual impatiens stuffed in the pockets of my heirloom terra cotta strawberry pot. This year, I chose white rather than the usual reddish-salmon color. The contrast of the white on the terra cotta will be gorgeous. It is the little things in life that bliss me out.

Stay tuned, because I will have a special surprise announcement coming on Monday!

I Am...

...the most blessed woman I know of. That is who I am. And if you understand divine grace, you are the most blessed woman (or man) that you know of.

Got all my hanging planters filled and hung (I design and plant up my own, which saves lots of money), free Black-eyed Susan perennials planted (three good-sized plants - a fabulous gift) and got all my tomato and pepper plants, plus some cilantro in the ground today.

It has been a long, hard-working, and insanely happy day for me. I'm slightly sunburnt and tired and my back aches, but oh, His grace is amazing!

Wild horses could not drag me back under the law. I love, love, love this New Covenant Life that I have been freely given in Christ Jesus.

Sharing some blogs I love - I planted some ranunculus today. I have long loved this flower, and finally have plants of my own! I ran across this fantastic little blog...if you enjoy ranunculus like I do, you will thank me for the link!

The Greatest Act of Service

I was asked for my best advice to any woman about to get married. After much prayerful consideration, here it is:

The greatest act of service is to see to it that you not only act cheerful, but that you truly are cheerful. Be (or become) a cheerful woman.

The discipline of cheerfulness is the single most important thing you can do as a keeper of your home. Again - when you don't feel cheerful, by all means, act cheerful. But the highest work of love and service is to, in fact, be cheerful.

A woman who heeds the Lord's command to "be of good cheer", is one-in-a-million. And she makes life at home a joy for her husband and children.

A Sunday in Spring!

Got fishin' licenses after church today...



Eleven of us went to the lake...

See the "Barbie Jeep" below...

cute puppies...

Rowing, singing newlyweds...

We all caravaned back home to my house, where spaghetti for eleven was whipped up with pleasure, and coat hangers were taken apart, and unbent to toast marshmallows over the fire.

Last but not least, after spaghetti, garlic bread, coffee and cookies, we watched the PBS remake of the Diary of Anne Frank. PBS did an excellent job.

We are so blessed to be able to cherish our moments together with family and friends...

Lovin' Church Life

Friendship is such a gift. And such a happy responsibility. I attended the bridal shower of yet another Harvester today...a girl I have watched grow up. I sat, once again breathing deeply of the atmosphere of eternity (relationships are the only thing we take into heaven with us), I watched the bride's mother's teary smiles and listened to the laughter of these my soul loves so much, and I took joy.

I would not trade this for anything. These moments. This spiritual family. Two weddings in a month's time would be difficult to pull off for any church our size - truly, she who "lives in a small community lives in a much larger world". We Harvest women have not chosen our companions, they have been chosen for us, and the responsibility to stick and stay and love and tend is far more intense when we can't float from clique to clique within a large framework, and pretend we are living church life.

I knew the back stories of almost every woman at the party today, and every woman I thoughtfully considered had sacrificed both to be there and to give. Some had sick children at home, the husband of another has recently had open heart surgery, and another woman had worked long hours this past week, and another is facing incredible stress on her job, and another drove five exhausting hours through stand-still traffic to get back into town, coming straight to the shower....yet they all came anyway, and it was pure joy for them.

Oh, dear one! It is all about the serving. Serving one another in love is to live life at its fullest tilt, awash in blessing and sweetly broken beneath the burden of fulfilling the law of Christ. ("Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ"...)

I made someone laugh until they cried today. I've heard it said "the devil made me do it", but I know it was God. Laughter is a medicine, and I was God's drug pusher, and I'm shockingly proud of it. (Deal with it.)

Next time, I'm going for a pee in the pants. To my knowlege, I have never made someone pee in her pants. That would be the ultimate success. I'd die a happy woman, knowing I accomplished something grand.

I love church life.

"Keep Yourselves in the Love of God..."

“We need to keep our heart full of a sense of the love of God. This is the greatest perspective available to us against the power of temptation in the world...Fill your heart with a sense of the love of God in Christ, and apply the eternal design of grace and shed blood to yourselves. Accept all the privileges of adoption,justification, and acceptance with God. Fill your heart with thoughts of the beauty of holiness...then in the ordinary course of walking with God, you will experience great peace and security from temptation.”

John Owen, Sin and Temptation

"But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,keep yourselves in the love of God..." (Jude)

A God-Kissed Day

A golden, God-kissed day. Gathering with the saints this morning was precious, the word on resurrection was encouraging.



Easter lunch was...startling. I managed to make enough to feed an army twice over. I cooked a good part of the afternoon yesterday, so that it would seem "easy" to come home to ham bathed in an orange/brown sugar glaze, stuffing, mashed potatoes, three bean salad, creamed peas, croissants, and gravy to go over any or all of it.

Every member of the family was here, including the sons-in-love, and my brother. Full table, full hearts, empty tomb. Does it get any better?

After clearing the dishes, I actually got a nap.

Then, instead of all of us going to the lake and out on the canoe as originally planned, someone came up with the idea of blessing me with an afternoon of garden work! I awoke to a request for supplies and hot dogs (for a late dinner). Off to the hardware and grocery stores I went, coming home with a pair of "loppers", a flat of basil, some impatiens and a flat of wave petunias, hot dogs and chips.

My flower patch got tilled by Jonathan, my herb garden cleared of the giant dead rosemary (a casualty of the colder than average winter) by Justin and Hannah, flowers planted by Sarah, and all the brush gleefully burned by Isaac, who has become quite the pyromaniac.

The overgrowth around the pond was cleared and an errant thorn bush dealt with by my man, giving the budding peonies and irises room to breathe. Evergreens got pruned and shaped, and the side shade garden weeded.

All this, and Jesus too. Somebody pinch me.

We managed to squeeze in some basketball, passing football, and a leisurely dinner - hot dogs off the grill, chips n' dip, with three bean salad leftovers - plus we enjoyed a fire in the firepit, along with beverages and quiet conversation about married life. Bliss.

I sit, propped up on pillows, listening to the sound of the pond waterfall, and sleepily chatting with all of you...thank you for stopping by. I love blogging so much, and I honestly love all my friends I've met along the way.

Not every day is golden - not every day feels God-kissed, even though every day is. I appreciate the privilege of sharing life with ya'll, and look forward with you to a glorious spring.

He's doing a new thing, you know.

The Missing Element...

Ever wonder what some homes are missing?

I've spent hours in others homes, large and small, rich and poor. One of the loveliest afternoons I spent was with a friend, many years ago, who had five children, two bedrooms, and no kitchen cabinets, only rough-hewn shelving. She made me potato soup, and I drank ice water, and we thoroughly enjoyed one another's company, and her home was clean and spare and happy.

Another home lingers sweetly in my memory - that of a doctor friend who lives south of Tennessee. This home is large with every imaginable amenity...but manages not to condescend. I am sure the unpretentious, relaxed atmosphere is due to a mix of philosophy and design.

Philosophy, in that the lifestyle portrayed by the home and in the home was real.

The sewing nook on the stair landing was obviously in use. The library was well loved and even more well read. The wood fired pizza oven, above the stone fireplace, had seen many meals.

Design, in that the elements of the house were collected over time. This family had endured seasons of lack and times of plenty, and all of this living was well represented throughout the home itself. No attempt was made to erase the signs of those years when needing to sew and grow a garden and utilize second hand furniture was necessary to make ends meet.

Necessity is always the mother of invention. Don't erase signs of necessity! Some of the most beautiful design elements in use today, are simply a result of a previous generation's frugal economy. This doctor's home, south of here, was not ashamed of a worn chair here or there.

I've been in small and large homes, where I get the distinct impression I am being either deceived or condescended to. Few situations are sadder or more unnecessary than a new McMansion, either partially empty, or stocked with items mostly purchased within the last five years, and meant to portray a certain look, or worse, a faux lifestyle. These homes are empty of soul. Or, what of the small home of modest means filled with expensive gadgets and rent-a-room furniture? Same empty result: a home with no soul. No seasons of life.

The missing element? Grace.

More than a doctrine to be confined within church walls, grace is a designer's or architect's or artist's dream. A home is meant to be a grace-note...a place where things worn and flawed and people worn and flawed are nevertheless loved. Anything or anyone we truly love is made beautiful in our eyes, and others usually agree. A home is meant to be a place where, yes, beauty is celebrated, but never at the expense of honesty and faithfulness to our individual callings and stories. Never at the expense of true hospitality.

True hospitality is simply a sharing of who I actually am, with those God brings into my life. I have to live the life first....only then can I share it authentically, and for a lifetime.

May my home, and yours, be an actual haven. Places of manifold graces.

Thrift Score!

A cute-as-can-be "skort" (I live in those during the summer!) tags still on it...I paid $1.99 at the thrift store.




I've been wanting some slightly scuffed "skinny jeans". Again, tags still on these. I paid $5.99 at the thrift store.

Both items fit just fine. Love me a good deal.

I also picked up a way-too-big-for-me beige linen jumper, obviously from the 90's when that sort of monstrosity was in style. "Why?" you ask? (oh please ask!) Well, it was a dollar, and gives me more than a yard of excellent weight, weave, and quality linen. I will wash it, rip the seams out, and make something out of the fabric. Probably some hand-embroidered something or other. (pillow? napkins?)

When I do, you'll be the first to know.

He, Being Dead, Yet Speaks...

“Every good thing we could think or desire is to be found in this same Jesus Christ alone. For he was sold, to buy us back; captive, to deliver us; condemned, to absolve us. He was made a curse for our blessing, sin offering for our righteousness; marred that we may be made fair.

He died for our life; so that by him fury is made gentle, wrath appeased, darkness turned into light, fear reassured, despisal despised, debt canceled, labor lightened, sadness made merry, misfortune made fortunate, difficulty easy, disorder ordered, division united, ignominy ennobled, rebellion subjected, intimidation intimidated, ambush uncovered, assaults assailed, force forced back, combat combated, war warred against, vengeance avenged, torment tormented, damnation damned, the abyss sunk into the abyss, hell transfixed, death dead, mortality made immortal.

In short, mercy has swallowed up all misery, and goodness all misfortune.”

—John Calvin, preface for Pierre Robert Olivétan’s 1534 French translation of the New Testament

The Week Before We Celebrate His Resurrection

The yard, here at the cottage this week:

The view from the hammock today:

Our Easter Table:

This afternoon, I dyed a few eggs using some blue and some green food coloring - then splattered them with craft paint in "burnt umber"...then I modge-podged a few more with some torn pieces of a toile paper napkin...one of my daughters created the vignette with the Celtic cross, nest, and the bird.
Each night, we light a series of six candles, counting down Holy Week to Resurrection Sunday, and the three of us (Isaac, Tim, and I...it is "just us three" at home now, amazingly) read a short passage about the final days and hours of Christ before His death.
We are keeping Easter joyfully here! You?
Linking with Beth over at A 2 Z...

Holy Week's Gratitude Journal

I pray you are slowing down enough to ponder the awe of this Holy Week - the week before Easter. Just as with the season of Advent, I am taking time each and every evening between now and Sunday to consider the Passion of Christ, and its impact on my destiny, and on my ordinary day.

I truly want to do something different in the way I keep Easter, this year. As close as we are to that special day, I am still not sure what to do differently, other than taking more time to meditate on the events of the week that led to the crucifixion of God in the flesh. I want to celebrate, to decorate, and to deeply consider. New life is bursting forth all around me - there is much to be immensely grateful for.

I am living a dream that I truly don't deserve. Isn't grace incredible?

Last year, I began keeping a "1000 Gifts" gratitude journal, with the encouragement of Ann Voskamp, a blessing-of-a-blogger. Today is her "Multitide Monday". Fellow bloggers can link up with her blog on a Monday, and count our blessings together...

~hearing the canary croon with Nora Jones, about an hour ago.

~the fire burning in my outdoor firepit right now.

~both daughters, now married to good, Godly men.

~that cute girl puppy, wearing a pink bandana.

~my chicken cordon bleu turned out amazing!

~"Hey baby, Tim's my handyman..."

~the fact that I knocked out my entire "to do" list today (and it was insanely long...)

~there is time to spare for a long, luscious bath...

~our weather forecast contains "six sunshines in a row" for the first time in months, literally! I'm beside myself with joy.

~the hundred plus daffodils about to burst into bloom in my three huge pots, under my mailbox, and in the flower bed.

~candy

~used bookstores

~hearing from the newlyweds, whose itinerary is a sweet secret.

~a honey who made me a great cuppa coffee just now...

Gratitude Journal in Pictures:

about to blossom

the lettuce seeds I planted awhile back! (we had a small salad tonight...)


Spring decor

Linking with A Holy Experience...

spring table

Tisn't New

This emphasis on New Covenant isn't new at all. The emphasis upon grace-through-faith (as opposed to moral duty or improvement) isn't strange and it isn't new. If it bothers you...if you wonder at it...or (heaven help us, I shudder at this) if you think it is in error...all I can say is...

...historically speaking, where have you been? There is a such thing as "the cult of the contemporary". Are you in that cult? Do you read? Or, if you read classically, do you read only the writings of dead "merit mongers"? That is most unwise. Have you read the New Testament without the veil on your head? Have you read church history?


“The doctrine of the atonement is very simple. It just consists in the substitution of Christ in the place of the sinner; Christ being treated as if he were the sinner and then the transgressor being treated as if he were the righteous one. It is a change of persons; Christ becomes the sinner; He stands in the sinner’s place…the sinner becomes righteous; he stands in Christ’s place…and is numbered with the righteous ones. Christ has no sin of His own, but he takes human guilt and is punished for human folly. We have no righteousness of our own, but we take the Divine righteousness; we are rewarded for it and stand accepted before God as though that righteousness had been worked out by ourselves.”

Preached long ago by Charles Spurgeon, The King’s Highway

When a woman or man, no matter their age, no matter how far from God they are, suddenly sees the atonement for what it is for the first time...and believes this scandalous gospel...they are saved. They can then, and only then, begin to grow up into the righteousness that has been purchased for them, and imputed to them.

Ah, but how can they hear, without a preacher? How will they hear if confused Christians keep on questioning the validity of this simple gospel?

The enemy's plan is old, but clever. Divide, and conquer. Divide, and thus keep as many as possible from being able to clearly hear this truth.

In Which Sheila Only Has One Thing To Say...

Come join me at the table

Righteousness is not something that grows in us. We grow into the free gift of righteousness, by grace through faith. I am all the "holy" I am supposed to be, at this very moment, because I am in Christ Jesus, who is made unto me...well, just everything I need. Good works are what I do for the sake of my neighbor, not to merit favor with God. God is pleased with Christ Alone.





Yeah. I think that is the one thing I wanted to say.

The Puppies...

Isn't this too much cuteness?? The white puppy is Sarah's puppy. We are puppysitting while she is on her honeymoon. The silver teacup is our Rambo. They adore each other!

(great shot, Hannah!)
Just don't ask Tim and I how we've been sleeping. (We haven't been.) Amber will not sleep without being in our bed...and if Amber is in our bed, why then Rambo must be there too. Then, they both snuggle us to the extreme...

Happy Birthday, My Love!

This past Sunday was my Tim's 47th birthday.


Yeah. The day after our daughter's wedding. After enjoying our guest speaker, Neil Silverberg, and receiving heartfelt birthday love from all of Harvest, we were exhausted. But thanks to Hannah and Justin, we managed a celebration. Hannah and Justin came by the house later Sunday evening and brought us dinner, a small cake, and a present for dad...

Hannah made this T-shirt!

Dad, wearing Isaac's hat...Hannah, Tim, and Isaac giving the camera their best "dumb redneck" pose. This picture is falling-down-funny!

Was there ever a busier, more satisfying March? Not in my life, not so far. March 2010 is definitely going down in the family history books.

PS. You would be most definitely blessed if you went to www.harvestchurch1.com , go to the resource page, and look up the MP3 of Neil's message this past Sunday. It is there, available for free...

The Nest Is Emptying...

This is one of the portraits we hung in the church foyer, as part of the wedding decor...Sarah, Jonathan, and Amber Marie, our "granddog".


This is a little of what we had to get done today. ::sniff:: Such an empty room. We finished moving Sarah's things to her new house for her. Have I cried yet? Oh. Yes.


...thus, Retail Therapy was in order. Here is what I found this afternoon at Tuesday Morning. Since I was feeling tired and a bit sad, I bought them both. They are happy in my kitchen, next to the coffee maker.

People, I am in serious renesting mode. Heaven help my husband, may God have mercy on his soul.

Be forewarned, gentle reader. Lots of posts to follow on topics such as "what color to repaint the kitchen and dining room", the gospel, My Brand New Life With Only One Kid Left At Home, gospel, my very first yoga classes (yet to be taken - stay tuned), gospel, the search for the perfect new armchair for the livingroom OR sewing my first slipcover (whichever option moves me when the time comes), the gospel, expanding the garden, raising blueberries and seventeen year old boys, the gospel, recipes, decorating ideas...

...and did I say the gospel of grace? I can't seem to ever stop talking about it. Your inheritance is way better than you know.

Stay tuned. I love you for visiting me here on my blog!

Our Sarah's Wedding

Harvest Church did it again. They came together as an expression of true community, and provided a complete wedding reception for our bride and her groom. Tim and I are blessed to tears, thankful for our church family.

You don't know what it meant to us that you were there. You were there in every sense of the word - physically, emotionally, spiritually, you were fully present, and have been since this adventure with Sarah and her Jonathan began.

To look around that church at 190+ faces (many of those from our parent church, Trinity Chapel, where Jonathan was raised from the time he was young) was a joy beyond telling for us. To know that they would be fully fed and entertained at the reception (such dancing!) was a stunning blessing.


My Stunning Daughter-Bride, and her handsome father, almost 200 guests looking on...

Dear family and pastor-friends, gathered in prayer

The moment they were presented as man and wife

A reception moment

Cake for the groom

"Is there anyone else in the room but us?"

First dance as man and wife

See the bride's footwear? She wore them for the ceremony, too. That's my girl. See the other boots? That is the maid of honor, the bride's twin sister Hannah. The bridesmaids wore strapless, knee length beaded gowns with western boots. It was adorable.




The princess waves goodbye as she and the groom drive away in the groom's "noble steed". Festooned with caution tape. Ahem.

many thanks to the sweet Liz Overton for her pictures...

Our Girl

Tonight is our Sarah's last night under our roof as an Atchley. The feeling is beyond bittersweet. Rehearsal went well and the rehearsal dinner was a time of "togetherness" that I will always remember.

Wedding is tomorrow at three o'clock. My little girl. My little "tomboy" has grown into a Godly and talented woman. This night marks her final, brief sleep under her daddy's authority and covering as "daddy" - but she gets the intense joy and complicated privilege of returning home, and still take her place under him as her pastor.

My dear friend (who is a pastor's wife and a pastor's daughter) Donna Jean once wrote Sarah the most insightful, moving letter about what it really means to be "the pastor's daughter". Remembering her wise words is what blesses, fills, and ministers to my heart this night. My friend brought my daughter a word in season, for sure, with gems of wisdom tucked in between the words telling her what to look for in the "right man"...that man who will someday marry "the pastor's daughter".


Praise Him! God has given Sarah a man who understands the unique relationship between pastor-daddy and daddy's girl. It is a father-daughter dynamic that is truly unique in all the world, and if a future husband does not understand it and honor it, he does his wife, her pastor-dad, and ultimately a whole church body a disservice.

Because when that relationship is beautiful and right, as it has been in our home (not perfect, but beautiful. There is a difference.) it is a joy above joy to those daughters to serve their father side by side in ministry. For my girls, it has always been a dream. It is coming true. What these girls need is not another pastor....not another father...those positions are well filled. They need a husband-lover and a friend. A friend who is not intimidated by the love they have for their daddy.

That is a tall order, and it is a rare man indeed who can meet up to it - respecting and cherishing the bond that his young wife will always share with her pastor-father. Sarah's man rose to the occasion - Hannah's man did so as well, and my heart magnifies the Lord in it!



Goodnight, little Sarah. I had a dream once, too, when I was young and about your age...and you came true.